Time Keeper
by Caroline L'Amoure
Summary: A seemingly normal girl is transformed with a strange experiment into something the world has no seen before- a 'Time' magi. Unfortunately, this experiment has caused her to lose her sight- and rely on three men to help her change the future...
1. Chapter 1

He was gone again.  
>The woman felt to the wall, feeling the familiar cold stone beneath her palm as she pressed against it to stand herself up. She groaned as her legs unfolded, stiff from sitting on the stone floor for too long. She blinked her eyes, an old habit from when she was a child before she had lost her sight. The world around her was the familiar darkness she had known for years. She had grown to love the darkness- it enveloped her in its warmth, letting her hide in it when there was nowhere else to go. She walked along the wall, using her palms to guide herself, and her feet shuffling forward to find the floor in front of her. A small squeak sounded from behind her, followed by a small tugging on her shirt and a small weight on her shoulder.<br>"Hello, Remmy." She said softly, reaching up to feel for where the jerboa rat was before patting him on the head affectionately. "Time to start things again. What time of the day is it?" She asked, unable to see whether it was night or day.  
>The jerboa squeaked twice, holding paws full of her hair to keep his balance as she started carefully making her way down the spiral stairs, her feet stepping forward ahead of her cautiously.<br>"Day? Oh good- I didn't sleep it away again." The girl smiled, sighing in relief when she felt a flat surface in front of her. She hated those stairs- she couldn't remember how many times she had missed a step and tumbled down the stairs to the bottom, battered and bruised.  
>She moved along the wall toward her familiar station, feeling for the stone she was supposed to fill for the day. This one felt smooth- it must be Monday. He always left her a smooth stone on Monday.<br>She raised her head when a noise sounded from the other side of the room, wondering what would make that noise now that the sorcerer had gone on one of his journeys again. He shouldn't be back for several days.  
>Remmy put a small paw against her cheek to calm her, letting her relax when her friend motioned that the noise had been nothing.<br>She sighed in relief and held the stone, pouring her magic into it again. She didn't know why he always wanted her to fill these stones. He had told her to start ever since she remembered being a small girl, trapped in this tower. Ever since then she had been terrified to even attempt to leave. She knew where the door was- she could probably leave the tower right now if she wanted to. But…  
>She reached up to feel the scars around her eyes, terrified at what she must look like. It must be terrible to see a woman with such gruesome scars around her eyes, and the eyes probably opaque and strange. She let her hair fall around her face again, knowing that she could never leave on her own. She wasn't able to defend herself in the real world.<br>She looked up when she heard hoof beats from outside, looking in that direction in surprise. It sounded like someone was coming up the path to the tower- but the sorcerer didn't ride a horse. He despised creatures- saw them as nuisances.  
>"Stay here. I'm going to go see if this is the place we're looking for." A deep voice said from outside- a voice that was strange and unfamiliar.<br>The woman gasped in shock, setting down the stone and swinging her hands behind her as she backed up until she met the stone wall. Oh, how she wished she could find a place to hide herself!  
>Boots started climbing the stairs that led to the room, making her breath quickly in terror as the door opened, closing her eyes and flinching in fear as someone entered the room, the rush of air from the door opening hitting her in the face.<br>Metal against metal sounded, a rustle of cloth followed by a gasp of surprise. Remmy chattered angrily against her shoulder, jumping off her to continue chattering protectively in front of her.  
>"Woah." The man's voice said in surprise, another rustle of cloth sounding. A low confused growl sounded from beside him, making him chuckle in amusement. "Yeah, I know. They didn't tell me anyone else would be here. You don't think she's the sorcerer, do you?"<br>The creature the man had come with growled again in disapproval. Whatever the creature was, it sounded large as metal sounded against metal again, the sound making her flinch.  
>"Don't hurt me, please." She whispered, trying to press herself against the wall as much as she could.<br>"Hurt you?" The man scoffed. "I'm not going to hurt you. Where is the sorcerer who's supposed to be here?"  
>The woman looked up toward where the man was talking, blinking in confusion. "He left a few days ago for a journey to the south. He won't be back for quite some time."<br>An amused growling chuckle sounded, followed by a groan of frustration and the sound of flesh hitting stone. "Damn it! How am I supposed to finish my final quest now? This was the last thing I had to do!" He yelled in frustration.  
>"Q-quest?" The woman said in confusion. "Who are you?"<br>"Oh. The name's Hunter- I'm a battle magi. This was my last quest before I finished my studies… damn, now what can I do? There's a general lack of evil sorcerers around here."  
>"Evil sorcerers?" The woman said, feeling Remmy crawl back up to her shoulder again. "Why would you want to kill sorcerers? I thought magi were evil."<br>The man scoffed in disbelief. "Well some, but most aren't. I think you've been in this tower too long. Aren't you a magi?"  
>"No. I'm just a human. I wasn't born with any magic."<br>A short silence followed, and the man let out a laugh of disbelief. "I'm highly doubting that. From your appearance you have to be either a magi or a sorcerer."  
>"Appearance?" The woman squeaked in fear. He didn't think she was disgusting, did he? Was he recoiling from her, without her even knowing?"<br>"Yeah- your hair first of all, it's… strange." The man said, after finding the right word. "Nice, but strange. Different. Why, can't you …"  
>The woman looked up for the first time, letting her hair fall from around her eyes. She heard a hiss of pity from the man, followed by a short silence.<br>"Oh. I'm sorry- I didn't…. uh…"  
>"It's alright. It happened a long time ago." She looked away in shame. She must look terrible to get a reaction like that.<br>The man let out a sigh, an awkward silence falling between them. "So, do you have a name?" He asked.  
>The woman bit her lip nervously as she fought to find her name… she had been called nothing but 'girl' or 'woman' for years… she didn't even know how old she was anymore.<br>"Starla. I'm not sure if that's really what I was named when I was born, but... It's the only name I know." She looked away in shame, realizing how terrible that sounded.  
>"Hey- it's alright. Have you been in this tower your whole life?"<br>She shook her head quickly, trying to wipe away the tears falling down her cheeks. "No. I was a little girl when he took me from my parents and brought me here. He did something… strange. I haven't been able to see since then."  
>The man shifted, metal and cloth sounding again. "Well that does it, then. I'm taking you with me. No way am I letting a pretty woman waste away with an evil sorcerer. Come on." He moved toward her, grabbing her wrist with a large warm hand. She was too shocked by 'pretty' to realize he was picking her up until she was in the air with a cry of terror. Where was the ground? She clung to him in fear, unable to feel anything but his powerful muscles as he moved down the staircase toward the door.<br>"I haven't been outside before." She managed to squeak out in fear before she heard the sound of the large wooden door to the tower creaking in front of them.  
>"Don't worry- I won't let anything happen to you. We'll head to The Keep and see if anyone can find out what he did to you." The man said, his voice loud now that it was right beside her head.<br>The woman nodded, feeling Remmy hanging onto the cloth of her shoulder as she bounced up and down while he walked. She reached up to hold the small rat gently in her hands, smiling at his small squeak of thanks.  
>"What is the creature you came with? It sounded… large." She said nervously, hearing another set of feet walking alongside him.<br>"Oh- that's my kuras tiger Silver. He's nice, don't worry." Hunter said, stopping so suddenly she let out a cry of surprise.  
>"Sorry- I'm going to put you on my elk, okay? It's pretty tall, but I'll be right up behind you." He shifted her weight in his arms, hoisting her with a grunt of effort high into the air, making her squeal in shock at the sense of height. She felt her leg bump something large and furry, hooking her leg around it when she assumed it was the elk. She settled down on the creature, hearing a deep snort as bells jingled from its head as it moved.<br>She felt him climb up beside her, putting his arms on either side of her to grab the reins. She blushed at the contact, realizing that he was keeping her from falling by wrapping his arms on either side of her.  
>"Ready? He runs pretty fast, but I won't let you fall off." He said from behind her, his body warming her back as the gold air chilled her front.<br>"Yeah." She said, unable to help let out a small squeak of surprise when the elk lunged forward. She reached backwards out of habit when she started falling in that direction, grabbing handfuls of his clothing in her fists for balance.  
>He chuckled in amusement as the air rushed passed them, pounding hooves sounding from beneath them as they rode.<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

"Alright- Blitzen is starting to get tired. We should probably stop and make camp for the night." Hunter said from behind her, as the elk snorted with each stride as it ran, the fur against her legs damp with sweat.  
>"Alright." She said, not really knowing what he meant by 'camp'. She had never travelled before.<br>She felt the air slow down as the elk's strides slowed, eventually coming to a stop as it panted. Hunter hooked his arms around her waist, setting her on the ground before hopping down from the elk himself.  
>"Stay here, I'll get some wood to make a fire. Silver will stay with you to keep you company." Hunter said, before his footsteps faded into the distance.<br>The woman bit her lip nervously as noises sounded from the wilderness around her, the strange growls chirps and howls making her uneasy.  
>She felt a large body sit down beside her, a low reassuring growl sounding from what must be Silver.<br>She looked toward him, holding a cautious hand out, wondering if the tiger wouldn't want her to be touching him.  
>He moved over so that her fingers reached into deep rich fur, a low purr sounding from him. She smiled and moved her hand through his coat of fur, feeling powerful muscles underneath the thick pelt. She contacted metal and flinched back in surprise, feeling the metal actually coming from the tiger's skin… what kind of creature grew metal armor from its body? It seemed very strange.<br>"Looks like you're getting along fine with him." Hunter said, walking back over in front of her. A large clamor of branches sounded as they dropped to the ground. Hunter kneeled next to them with a rustle of metal and cloth to start building the fire.  
>"Does it hurt him to have metal growing out of him like this?" She asked, running her hand along the smooth, cold metal.<br>"No, not at all. All kuras tigers are born like that- it's normal for them to grow armor like that." He put sticks together with small clicks before a warmth came from in front of her. She smiled at the comfort, her cold skin finally warming.  
>"Is it dark yet, is that why it's so cold?" She asked softly, running her hand through Silver's fur.<br>"Yeah. Another reason I wanted to stop for the night." Hunter said, walking over and sitting next to her. He let out a soft sigh and sat silently for a moment. He laid back against the grass with a long sigh. "So, you said you weren't born with magic- but you obviously have some, right?"  
>"Yeah." She said softly. She had never talked with anyone other than the sorcerer… she didn't really know how to react or what to say. "I'm not sure all that I can do, though. Some of it scares me."<br>He sat up again, watching her for a minute. "How is it scary? Do you have fire or earth magic?"  
>Stella bit her lip uneasily. "I'm not sure if I have magic that's similar to anyone else. He made me what I am- I don't even know everything he gave me."<br>"'Gave you'? What do you mean by that?" Hunter asked in shock.  
>"I'm not sure- he just said that he gave me magic. I don't really know how he did, or even why." She said softly, hooking her arms around her legs as she held them against her front. "Is… is that bad?"<br>"No, not bad, just concerning. It does explain a few things, though. Especially the way you look."  
>"How do I look? I've never known." Stella said, looking over at him. She was terrified to ask- she hoped the answer wouldn't be as bad as she thought it would be.<br>"Well…" He said, turning toward her with another rustle of fabric. "You won't get angry with me at all?"  
>Stella shook her head, letting her hair fall over her face nervously.<br>"Alright, your hair is black- except… well, normally a person's hair reflects a lighter color- but yours… it reflects in different colors somehow. Sometimes when the light hits it, it's like the light reflecting off a stained glass window. It's…strange. Your eyes are white, but they're not scary or anything if that's what you're worried about."  
>"What about…" She put her hand up to the area around her eyes, feeling the scars around her eyes.<br>"What?" He asked, looking at her in confusion.  
>"I thought…" She felt the ridges of scars, wondering if she was imagining them or not.<br>"What, do you have a scar or something? I didn't see it." He said simply. "I wouldn't worry too much about that kind of thing. You look fine."  
>Stella smiled and nodded, not knowing what else to do. "So, is it safe to sleep out here?"<br>She heard him chuckle and bit. "Yeah. Besides, if something attacks us you have a warrior magi with you. Nothing bad will happen, I promise." He said, laying back down again.  
>Stella moved a bit more away from him before lying down as well, hearing Remmy squeak as he settled down on her waist, curling up against her hip.<br>Stella ran her hand through the grass on the ground, smiling softly at the prickly feeling of the blades before drifting to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Stella woke up hearing the clang of metal and rustling fabric. "What's going on?" She asked, sitting up.  
>"We should get going. I'm just packing Blitzen for the trip. I went hunting while you were asleep- don't worry, Silver was here with you- so we have plenty with us for the journey." Hunter said.<br>Stella nodded, looking over in the direction the noises were making. "So, what sort of quest were you on when you found me?" She had been wondering that the entire time- he had said 'final quest' when he found her.  
>"Oh- see at the Keep they teach different kinds of magi to be the best in their element. Well, I have the element of earth- more specifically vines. I decided I wanted to become a warrior magi, specializing in fighting tactics and using my magic to ward off evil sorcerers and magi. To finish my training I had to do one final quest- a test I guess you could call it- to kill an evil sorcerer and bring back proof. He wasn't there, and I'd rather not fight on his own ground when he comes back. I'll go back again once I drop you of at the Keep."<br>Stella nodded, looking downward sadly. She didn't want to be 'dropped off' with strangers. Especially if they found out what she could do…  
>"What? Did I say something bad?" He asked. She heard footsteps come toward her, and felt the nearness of him as he kneeled next to her.<br>"No, I'm just… worried. They don't know me, and I'm not sure how they would react to me." She said softly. Remmy squeaked as he ran up on her shoulder, sitting down in his usual spot.  
>"Hey- a jerboa rat!" He said. "Those don't normally bond with people easily."<br>"Yeah, Remmy's been my little buddy for a long time." She reached up to pet the small creature with a finger, smiling at his happy squeak.  
>"Well, he seems quite fond of you." He said, a smile in his voice. She looked up at him, wishing she knew what he looked like. He sounded young- indeed he must be if he was still finishing his training. Was he her age? She wasn't even sure how old she was. "Can… can I see what you look like?"<br>A small silence came over them before Hunter moved closer to her. "How would you do that?"  
>She leaned forward, feeling the ground until her hand met one of his legs. She kneeled on her knees in front of him and reached forward, her useless eyes staring ahead at where she thought he was.<br>Her fingers contacted cloth, her palm resting on a wide expanse of powerful muscle. He cleared his throat nervously, shifting beneath her as she felt the vibrations of his cough through his stomach. She moved up and felt a metal plate covering his chest, held on by straps around the sides and around his neck. A cloak fell over his shoulders, her fingers running over the hem of his shirt before coming to his face. She looked down nervously as she ran her fingers lightly over his face, his skin heating beneath her hands. High cheekbones, angular features- his shoulders and chest were broad and built from his training. Oh my… he must be incredibly handsome. She took her hands away quickly, wrapping them in her dress nervously.  
>"Thank you. I was wondering." She whispered, looking away from him.<br>"No problem." He said, his voice filled with an emotion she had never heard. She felt his hand wrap around her wrist as he helped her up and guided her over to the elk. "Same as before- I'll lift you up and be on after you."  
>She nodded and was flung upwards, hooking her leg around the saddle of the elk before feeling him against her back again. When his arms hooked around her she blushed at the vision she'd made of his face. She didn't quite know what to do now… how should she act? She decided to stay silent as the elk moved forward, quickening his pace to a gallop.<p>

The next day, they rode through a large meadow, Blitzen's hooves pounding against the ground as he ran. Hunter gasped and slowed the elk down to a stop, remaining silent as they stood still.  
>"What's wro-" Stella began, but stopped when his hand covered her mouth.<br>"Keep quiet- it might not hear us." He whispered softly to her, clicking gently to tell Blitzen to back up slowly. The elk backed away, a loud snort sounding from in front of them.  
>"Shit, it saw us." Hunter growled as a loud strange roar sounded. Hooves came running toward them, Blitzen dancing out of the way as it passed. Stella felt heat burn the air around them, flinching from the sensation.<br>"What is it?" She said in panic as Hunter dropped her to the ground and jumped down beside her. She felt a rush of air as he spun a rod of some sort, a strange crackling sound coming from it.  
>"It's a Delroch- they're not very nice." Hunter muttered, grabbing her by the waist and moving her as it charged again. He moved swiftly and she heard a pained yell from the animal.<br>"Of course Silver would decide to hunt now." He muttered, his other arm still around her waist. He moved them as the Delroch charged again, heat filling the air as Hunter yelled in pain, the rod dropping to the ground with a wooden sound.  
>"Shit, not good." Hunter growled in pain as the Delroch snorted and roared from a distance as it prepared to charge. Stella looked in that direction and closed her eyes in frustration, knowing there was no other way now…<br>She took a step away from Hunter, moving out of his grip. She closed her eyes and raised her hands, letting her magic flow through her.  
>When she opened her eyes, the world was filled with vibrant colors- streams of magic filled the air in rainbow hues around her, the plants glowing a bright green. She looked to Hunter and saw him glowing with the same green magic, his expression shocked as he stared at her.<br>She had been right- he _was_ handsome.  
>She turned toward the Delroch, who burned with red magic as it stomped the ground angrily with a hoof, red flames shooting out of its nostrils.<br>Stella glanced hesitantly back to Hunter before letting out a long sigh- she wished she could do two spells at once to keep him from watching- but she had learned long ago that was impossible.  
>She raised her left hand, a white sphere surrounding the Delroch, freezing it in place. It didn't move- not even breathing. She dropped that hand and raised her right, closing it into a fist.<br>The Delroch ried out as the grass beneath it waved at a rapid speed before wilting. The creature's fur started to grow dull and gray with age, muscles shrinking as it grew thinner and feebler. It fell to its knees when it couldn't hold its own weight, gasping loudly for air.  
>Stella looked away, hating to watch as the skin and muscles melted off the dead creature, leaving only a skeleton behind on the ground. Even that turned to dust in a few minutes. She lowered her hand, the white sphere fading and the dust blowing away in the wind. Her head spun for a minute as she stood, turning to look at Hunter.<br>He was still staring at her, his expression filled with shock- but now it held horror as well.  
>She had been afraid this would happen. The one person she hadn't wanted to see her full magic had just seen her kill a creature with it.<br>_If the magi find out what you are capable of, they will try to kill you._  
>The sorcerer's warning rang through her mind as she watched Hunter. Terror filled her at the thought of him trying to kill her, making her take a step back in fear.<br>"Wait-" He rise a hand to stop her, but was too late.  
>She ran into the forest behind her, tears filling her eyes as the trees glowed green around her. She cursed loudly when her magic ran out, the world fading back to darkness around her. She stumbled on something and fell against a tree, holding her head in pain as she fell against the trunk.<br>She felt the world start to spin and sat on the ground. She had used too much magic. The last thing she remembered before her mind went blank was the memory of Hunter's horrified expression.


	4. Chapter 4

"Wait-" Hunter yelled as Stella took a step back from him. From her expression it looked like she would bolt any minute. A second later she did- sprinting into the forest behind her.  
>He looked over at where the Delroch had been, still in a little shock from seeing the sight of the beast aging so rapidly and dying. She had looked at him with those eyes- Gods, <em>those eyes.<em>  
>Instead of white, they had been filled with every color he could imagine- all swirling wildly within their depths. It had surprised him so much that he had frozen. She had seen his expression- how, he didn't know- but she had ran.<br>He jogged into the forest after her, not seeing her anywhere in sight. Damn it, if only Silver was around…  
>As if summoned, the tiger appeared and growled at him in question as to why he was in the forest.<br>"Stella ran off- come on, we have to find her." Hunter looked down at the tiger as it growled in confusion.  
>"I don't know why she ran- she may be in trouble though, so let's get going." Hunter insisted, before running through the trees, his armor clanging on him and his cloak flying behind him.<p>

He found her sitting against a tree, her eyes closed. He kneeled next to her, his green eyes wide in panic when she didn't respond to him as usual.  
>He saw now, how she could believe she' wasn't as beautiful as she was. She had small scars around her eyes, as if something had burned her- but they were faint.<br>He reached out cautiously and moved a lock of her rainbow hued hair from her face, the light reflecting colors onto her cheeks. Silver's growl from beside him made Hunter jump in surprise and glare at the tiger.  
>"I think she ran into something." He muttered, looking at the jagged wound on her forehead. Well, that's what happened when a blind girl ran through a forest. She probably ran into a tree.<br>But then how had she seen him earlier?  
>His mind filled with questions as she let out a soft groan, her eyes opening to reveal the familiar white they had been before.<br>"Hey- are you alright?" He asked softly, moving her hair to get a good look at the nasty scrape.  
>She stared up at him, her breathing quickening in fear. "Please don't kill me- please." She pleaded, scrambling away from him against the tree.<br>"Why do you always think I'm going to hurt you?" Hunter said in frustration, moving closer to her again. "That's a nasty cut- we may have to take you to a healer." He moved the hair away again, looking at the cut and frowning in concern.  
>Stella closed her eyes as his hands moved within her hair, leaning back against the tree. "I don't feel very good." She whispered.<br>Hunter looked down at her in surprise, glancing to Silver. "I'm thinking we need to find a healer fairly quickly. What do you think?"  
>The tiger growled in agreement, nodding his head before looking back to Stella.<br>"Alright- how are you feeling bad? Does your head hurt? Are you just sleepy?"  
>"Both." Stella said faintly, leaning her head against his palm.<br>"Uh-oh." Hunter said in panic as she fell over again, unconscious. "Yeah, we definitely need to get her to a healer. Probably the nearest one is in Callisto Islands, right? There are lots of water magi there."  
>Silver growled in agreement. He stood and motioned to his back to tell him to put Stella on him to carry.<br>"Alright- good idea. Let's get going before something else happens." He said, picking Stella up and looked down at the metal plates on Silver's back. They would probably pinch and scrape her if he laid her down on just the metal…  
>He looked around for a minute and set her down again, taking his cloak off and setting it over Silver. He picked Stella back up again and laid her down on the tiger's back, the large creature easily holding her weight.<br>"Alright, let's get back to Blitzen. Hopefully we can get the Callisto quickly." Hunter said uneasily, running next to Silver through the forest to get back to the elk.

Hunter stood at the edge of the ocean, looking at the island in the distance in frustration. Damn it, he hadn't thought this through very well. He was an earth magi- he didn't have any water creatures.  
>He looked to the left in the water as a large boat sailed into view- It was nearing a harbor in the distance. He ran back over to Blitzen, jumping on and flicking the reigns to get Blitzen into a full run. He held onto Stella as she leaned against him while Blitzen galloped toward the harbor in the distance at top speed.<p>

"So, who are 'ye? What's with the girl?" The captain looked at Hunter skeptically on Blitzen, a frown on his large bearded face.  
>"I'm Hunter- battle magi- this is Stella, and she needs a healer quickly. She's beginning to run a fever." Hunter looked down at Stella as she gasped for breath, leaning against him.<br>"Aye, she doesn't look good. Alright, I'll take you to the islands. Let's get going, though." The captain said, lowering a large plank from the boat's side to the dock to let Blitzen trot onto the boat. Hunter stepped onto the swaying deck, looking uneasily at the water before taking Stella off of Blitzen, carrying her over to the side of the boat.  
>"Oh, no need for that. You can take her to the lower deck- there's a bed there she can rest on for the trip. We should be there by nightfall." A crewman pointed toward the stairs that led to the lower decks.<br>Hunter nodded in thanks and took Stella below deck, setting her down on the bed in the single room. He took a chair over from across the room and sat in it, looking down at her thoughtfully. To think that such a small and frail girl could hold such power…

What had that sorcerer done to her?


	5. Chapter 5

Hunter had fallen asleep against the back of the wooden chair when he was woken by Stella's yell of fear. He looked down at her in panic, seeing her eyes open and staring ahead of her, rainbow colors swirling in them as her expression twisted in fear.  
>"Hey- what's happening?" He looked at her in concern, reaching out to reassure her.<p>

_He saw himself defending her against countless magi- all of them trying to destroy the danger she represented. He saw the sorcerer take her for himself, vowing revenge on the world for corrupting his experiment. She held his face in her small hands, smiling as her unseeing eyes watched him. He saw her cry before vanishing, ignoring his yells of protest as she disappeared into the world forever._

Hunter gasped in shock as he came back to himself again, looking down at Stella in surprise. Gods, what sort of magic did she have in her? He was positive she had just shown him bits of his own future- or what it could be, anyway.  
>He watched the magic fade from her eyes, the rainbow becoming white again as she stopped yelling. She gasped for breath, her fever spiking as the magic ran out again.<br>"Stupid girl, using your magic again." He muttered before bringing another blanket up around her shoulders to try and sweat the fever out while they got to a healer. Although, it was obvious she didn't have complete control over the strange magic. He looked down in surprise when she grabbed his wrist, her small hand gripping his tightly.  
>"Don't tell them- please don't tell any of the other magi." She said desperately between gasps for breath.<br>"I won't. Don't worry, the only way they'll find out is if you tell them yourself. Just get some sleep- you're getting worse when you don't sleep." He said, taking his wrist out of her hand and setting her arm back down beside her.  
>She stared ahead for a minute, her gaze going past his shoulder. "Why are you being so nice to me? Why not just leave me somewhere? I saw your expression- you're terrified at what I can do."<br>"I don't know about 'terrified'- that's a very strong word." Hunter said defensively. "Shocked yeah, a little uneasy sure, but I'm not scared of you. Is that what you're so worried about? I'd be so scared of your abilities that I'd try to kill you or not want to be around you?"  
>She looked away, a blush covering her pale cheeks. "I thought…"<br>"That's what he told you, right? Well babe, the world is a bit different from the view of an evil sorcerer. Not everything is out to get you- and not everyone will abandon you at the first sign of something bad happening."  
>"Yes, but…" She looked away with a blush staining her cheeks.<br>"I won't leave you- don't worry so much. Now get some rest." He insisted. She hesitated long enough that he let out a frustrated sigh and pushed her shoulders back against the bed. "Sleep- or you'll never make it in time for a healer."  
>Stella nodded and laid back against the pillows of the bed, the rocking of the ship sending her quickly into a deep sleep. Hunter sighed in relief and looked over to Silver as the tiger watched him, a wry expression on the creature's face.<br>"What?" Hunter asked in confusion.  
>The tiger snickered in amusement and walked out of the room, leaving a very confused Hunter behind him.<p>

Stella woke up, smelling the scent of ocean and herbs. She tried to sit up, but a gentle hand held her down.  
>"No sitting up until I finish. Just relax." A female voice said, unfamiliar to Stella. She tensed, feeling wildly around her for where she was- all she felt was blankets and pillows.<br>"Calm down, Stella. This is April- she's healing you." Hunter said soothingly, putting a hand on her wrist reassuringly. Stella felt the familiar warmth of his palm and relaxed, letting out a long sigh.  
>"Poor dear, you got a pretty nasty bump." April said, putting a hand above Stella's forehead. Stella felt the warm sensation of magic flowing into her, the throbbing pain in her head lessening with each passing minute.<br>"She was unconscious for a while, I think. Will she be alright?" Hunter asked. He sounded… worried. Why would he be so worried about her?  
>"She'll be fine." April chuckled. "Just a bump on the head, it can cause someone to get dizzy and fall unconscious if it's this bad. How long was she asleep?"<br>Hunter hesitated for a minute. "Stella, you should probably tell her what happened so she can heal you properly."  
>Stella tensed again, her fists clenching in fear as the magi continued to heal her wound. "I… I used all of my magic. It makes me tired, when I do."<br>"That's common- the combination probably caused you to sleep for a long time. I have heard of magi sleeping for days when they use all of their magic." April finished with a sigh of satisfaction and took her hand away from Stella.  
>"But… I'm not…" Stella fiddled with the folds of her dress nervously. She wasn't sure if she should tell April if she was a magi or not…<br>"Oh, I was hoping you'd say something, but I didn't want to pry." April said happily. "I'm not entirely magi either, you see. It's not a big deal."  
>"Holy- you have fangs!" Hunter said in shock.<br>"Fangs?" Stella blinked in confusion.  
>"Yes, I'm part vampire. Like I said, not a big deal if you're not entirely magi." April chuckled.<br>Stella smiled softly, glad that someone else wasn't a normal when it came to magic. She leaned back against the pillows behind her, suddenly feeling very sleepy.  
>"Alright, we should let her sleep. You can have the room across the hall if you'd like, since you're staying as long as it takes her to heal."<br>"Uh… okay." Hunter said uneasily. He obviously hadn't been expecting to stay long.  
>"I'll be alright." Stella said sleepily, blinking as her magic tried to turn on and off, the air around her freezing before speeding up again and returning to normal.<br>"What was that?" April whispered in curiosity.  
>"Nothing- alright, where was this room you were talking about?" Hunter said hurriedly, his footsteps shuffled as he went out the door, April following him.<br>Stella couldn't help but smile as Hunter talked quickly out in the hall, trying to distract April. He definitely wasn't the most discrete man.  
>She tried to keep the time around her stable as she closed her eyes, unable to stop it from freezing again as she started to fall asleep.<p> 


	6. Chapter 6

The next day, Hunter walked over to Stella's room, opening the door and pausing in confusion at the rippling white magic that covered the doorway. He stuck his hand in the strange light, flinching when his fingers suddenly turned numb. He looked into the room, squinting his eyes to see through the glow and gasped in shock.  
>Inside everything was still- a white winged cat was frozen in midair as leapt onto the bed Stella was sleeping on. Hunter jumped when a noise sounded down the hall, but seeing nothing. He looked into the room, at a panic at what to do. April would see what was going on, and might panic- especially when one of her creatures was involved. He closed the door and ran back over to his room, rooting through his satchel until he found the long rope he had brought with him. He tied a lasso onto it and glanced both ways down the hall, hoping no one would be watching.<br>If he could just get the cat out of the room… it wouldn't look as obvious that something was going on. He swung the lasso over his shoulders to get momentum before flinging it into the room, swearing loudly when it got stuck in the air just inside the doorway- moving slowly toward the other side of the room.  
>Oh great, now if it wasn't obvious what was happening before, it sure as hell was now! He yanked at the rope to get the lasso back out, grunting with effort when it didn't budge. He pulled at the thick rope until it broke with a snap, sending him tumbling backwards into the wall behind him. Hunter rubbed his head in pain and looked up to see a small end of the rope hanging from the white light. He looked to his hand to see the broken frayed end of his own rope and growled in frustration.<br>"Hey, are you okay up there?" April yelled from the floor below, footsteps sounding as she came up the stairs.  
>Hunter looked wildly at the door and shut it with his foot, the wooden door slamming and hiding the scene inside the room. April walked into the hallway, looking at him curiously as he sat on the floor with the frayed rope.<br>"What in the name of Uluwuante are you doing?" She looked down at him skeptically.  
>"Ah… nothing?" He said, looking up at her sheepishly.<br>April looked at him with an odd expression for a bit, before shaking her head in confusion. "Whatever. I'm going to check on Stella." She said, walking over to the door.  
>"No- wait!" Hunter scrambled to his feet, but was too slow to keep April from opening the door and looking at the white light in confusion. She looked past the light into the room, gasping in surprise when she saw the cat frozen mid leap, everything in the room still.<br>"What the hell is going on?" She looked up at the rope that was stuck in the air just inside the room, She looked over to Hunter to see the other half of the rope, her teeth gritting in anger.  
>"What happened to my cat? What's going on?" She snapped, looking down at the earth magi with her hands planted firmly on her hips.<br>"I was trying to get it out- I didn't realize the rope would freeze too." Hunter said defensively, standing and dropping the rope. "it's probably not going to stop until she wakes up."  
>April stared at him in question for a minute. "She's doing this? What is it, anyway?"<br>Hunter looked up at April hesitantly , glancing over at the room. "I'm not sure if I should say- we should wait until she wakes up."  
>"When will that be?" April said hesitantly, glancing at one of her beloved winged cats.<br>"I'm not sure. She doesn't normally sleep for long, though." Hunter said, sighing as he set his head against the wall behind him.  
>"Where is she from, anyway?" April whispered, looking into the room still.<br>"From south of here- near a volcano in Voltar. She hasn't really gotten out much." Hunter said, looking into the room as well. He wasn't telling her anything about Stella's magic… so it was harmless.  
>"Well, please call me when she wakes up. I want to check on that cat." April said nervously. "I have to tend to the herb garden."<br>Hunter nodded and stayed on the floor across the hall from Stella's room, putting a palm over his face in frustration. What a mess.

Stella woke up with a loud yawn, feeling refreshed. She felt something jump up onto the bed and squeaked in surprise, Remmy running up to her shoulder and putting a paw on her cheek reassuringly.  
>"Stella- you're awake." Hunter's relieved voice said from outside the room, his footsteps getting closer until a heavier weight settled on the bed next to her.<br>"Did something happen?" She asked, wondering why he sounded so relieved.  
>"Yeah… uh… you froze time in your sleep, I think. April saw." He said uneasily as another set of footsteps ran down the hall.<br>"Is it over?" She asked quickly. She ran over to the bed, picking up the smaller weight, which meowed happily at the sight of her. Oh… it must be a cat.  
>"She seems alright." April said softly, standing in front of them.<br>"I told you she'd be fine." Hunter said in frustration.  
>Stella looked away uneasily, knowing she'd have to explain things now. The room remained silent as they waited for her expectantly.<br>"Well you know that I'm obviously not a magi at all now. I never was." Stella whispered.  
>"How did you get such a strange ability?" April said curiously, a chair scraping the ground before stopping beside Stella's bed.<br>"I'm not sure- I was very young when the sorcerer did the experiment. He took creatures and… did something to them. Whatever he did, I got this magic somehow. I never even had magic before that." She looked down, flexing her hands uneasily.  
>"He gave you creatures' powers?" Hunter gasped in surprise.<br>"Yeah. I'm not sure which ones exactly, but I've always been able to stop time and speed it up. I can never reverse it though."  
>"Wait- what do you mean by speed up time?" April said with a gasp.<br>Stella sighed, gauging how much magic she had left before raising her hand, her eyes flashing with rainbow colors as her magic flowed through her. She glanced ahead to April, smiling softly at the magi's long hair as she glowed with a bright blue magic. She looked over to the windowsill, seeing a small plant glowing faintly with a green magic.  
>"Is it alright if I show you on this plant?" Stella asked, pointing to the plant on the windowsill.<br>"Okay- now I'm confused. How can you see?" Hunter blinked in shock. She looked at his expression and couldn't help but chuckle.  
>"I'll explain later- for now…" Stella walked over to the plant and closed her hand into a fist, a small white sphere forming around the plant. The leaves swayed in an unseen wind as the plant started to grow brown and wither. Soon it shriveled into a small stalk, the plant dissolving into the dirt beneath it. Stella looked to April to see a surprised expression, followed by a wry smile.<br>"Looks like I'm going to have to find a new pot too- it's all cracked."  
>"Oh, sorry." Stella blushed, the world around her fading back to darkness. "I couldn't see the pot."<br>"Alright, then how did you see the plant?" Hunter insisted.  
>"I can see anything with magic when I do that. You, glowing green." She pointed to Hunter. "And you, glowing blue." She pointed to April. "Anything without magi is still just darkness to me."<br>"That makes more sense." Hunter said, standing and grabbing her wrist to lead her back to the bed. She sat down on the mattress, still feeling a bit dizzy.  
>"Alright, you're still looking pale. Do you guys have to go anywhere quickly? I think you should stay for a while, so she can rest." April said, the cat near her meowing softly.<br>"Alright, we'll stay for a while if you wouldn't mind." Hunter said in agreement. "Are you alright with that, Stella?"  
>Stella nodded, glad she was able to rest. She always felt so tired after using her magic… especially speeding time.<p> 


	7. Chapter 7

_The sorcerer came back to the tower, yelling for her before cursing loudly when he realized she was gone. He found find her… even if it meant searching to the ends of the world, he would find that girl and bring her back. His experiment wasn't finished yet._

_A dark face laughed in the darkness, somewhere behind her as she ran. She knew he would never come rescue her- she was too far away by now for him to catch up. She stumbled on something on the ground, falling with a curse as she caught herself, scrambling forward blindly as hands gripped at her long hair.  
>"I had told you not to run, woman. You're too valuable for me to let go so easily. This time I'll make sure no one ever finds you." He whispered in her ear, his teeth clicking together in a smile before he chuckled as she struggled.<br>"Oh, we've gotten a bit rebellious since our little trip, have we? Well we'll just have to fix that once we get back." The sorcerer held her wrist painfully tight, dragging her up from the ground to her feet.  
>For a moment she wondered if it would be a good idea to go with him… after all, it was the only other home she knew of. That decision was made for her when he hoisted her up onto a horse, jumping up behind her and holding her tightly as they started galloping south toward his tower.<br>She knew why he wanted her now- it was finally time for him to finish his experiment.  
>She lowered her head, submitting to this ultimate act of her life… it was all she was good for now. <em>

Stella woke with a yell, looking around the room but seeing nothing but darkness. She felt for the edge of the bed with her hands, slipping her feet to the floor experimentally before standing. She shuffled her way across the room, the night air cool on her skin as crickets chirped outside the window. She met the stone wall and moved along it, her palms feeling cool stone as it curved around a corner and met wood. She searched for the doorknob, turning it gently until the door opened with a slight creak. She bit her lip nervously as she wondered what direction the other side of the hall was in- where was his room?  
>She decided to take a guess, skittering across the stone nervously before meeting cool stone on the other side with a sigh of relief. She walked along that wall until she came to another door, hearing heavy breathing inside from Hunter sleeping. She had to be sure, though. She had to ask him…<br>She opened the door with another creak, the sound stopping the breathing abruptly.  
>"Who's there?" Hunter asked, his voice raspy as wood clanged against the ground.<br>"I need to ask you something." Stella said softly into the darkness, trying to find out where he was in the room.  
>"Stella? What are you doing up? You're supposed to be resting." Hunter said in frustration, another wooden sound clanging against the stone floor.<br>"I had a… well, a bad dream I guess."  
>"You don't have dreams, and you know it. What did you see?" Hunter asked, reaching out a hand and grabbing her wrist, guiding her over to sit on his bed in front of him.<br>"How do you know I don't dream?" She whispered, her wrist still warm from his hand.  
>"When you were sick I touched you- and saw what you saw… I think. Either way, since you can control time like you do, I figure you can do more." He moved the blankets on the bed, pulling them higher onto him. "So, what did you see?" He asked again.<br>"The sorcerer is searching for me. He won't ever stop." She whispered, her mind filling with terror at the memories of the man. He had been so cruel… so heartless. She wasn't a human to him, she was just  
>another one of his toys he got bored with when she got too frustrating.<br>"Hey- you're shaking." Hunter put a hand reassuringly on her shoulder, the shaking only getting worse at the contact.  
>"I don't want to go back- that place was horrible. Now that I know how things can be, I don't want to ever go back to what I was before…" She felt tears run down her cheeks, her eyes wide as she stared ahead of her.<br>"Stella…" Hunter moved forward cautiously, putting an arm around her shoulders comfortingly. "He won't get you, I won't allow it. I'm a battle magi, right? It's my job to fight evil sorcerers and magi. No one will hurt you."  
>Stella couldn't help the relief that poured through her- he had meant it. She knew now, that Hunter meant to protect her. He wouldn't leave her.<br>"Oh babe come on- don't cry." Hunter said softly, hissing in surprise when she buried her face in his shoulder, her hands against his bare chest. He let her cry, holding her tightly when he didn't know what else to do or say.  
>Finally when her tears had run out, she realized she had her hands against bare skin- his muscles were tense beneath her when she froze, leaning back with a fierce blush.<br>"I-I'm sorry. I should have asked." She whispered, looking away from him. She heard a warm chuckle and looked back at him in confusion.  
>"I'm not wearing a shirt- there's no need to worry. Have you ever worn armor plates to sleep? I'll have you know it's not very comfortable." He said, running a hand along her cheek, as if trying to see her in the darkness like she did.<br>"No, probably not." She whispered, not liking to admit how much she liked his touch- always warm, always gentle. It was dangerous.  
>"Are you feeling better, now?" Hunter asked, his hand moving to her hair, moving it away from her face.<br>"Yeah. Thank you." She said softly, looking away from him in embarrassment. "I'm sorry I got so upset like that. I usually don't do that."  
>"I know. Once in a while you're entitled to be upset. Everyone is." He said reassuringly. "Do you want me to take you back to your room?"<br>Stella nodded gently, glad that she wouldn't have to stumble her way back. She moved back when he shifted on the bed, standing up next to her and holding her hand to help her up as well. He guided her by her shoulders through the room, moving forward slowly as she stepped cautiously forward. Finally they made it back to her own room, Hunter leading her over to her bed and sitting her down on it before backing away.  
>"Will you be alright?" He asked, standing in front of her.<br>"Yeah- I think so." She whispered, glancing up at where she thought he was.  
>"If you have any more dreams, just call for me. You shouldn't be walking around at night alone." He said, touching the spot where her wound had been to make sure she hadn't bumped into anything else.<br>"I will. Thanks again, Hunter." She said softly.  
>She heard him chuckle softly in amusement and looked up at him in confusion. "You know, I think that's the first time you've used my name when you're not yelling at me for something."<br>Stella smiled as well, listening to his footsteps as he walked back out of the room, hesitating at the door before closing it behind him.  
>She laid back against the bed again, laying a palm on her face in frustration. Why had she cried like that in front of him? She had never cried in front of anybody before. She still wondered why as she fell asleep again, this time her mind silent from visions.<p> 


	8. Chapter 8

A few days passed at Herbal Grace keep, remaining relatively uneventful as Stella started feeling better. She was sitting in the living room when April ran into the room, her footsteps stopping in front of Stella.  
>"I know just the thing for you-" April began, paper crinkling before a note rested in Stella's hands. Stella held the note, looking up to where she heard April breathing heavily from running.<br>"You do know blind people can't read, right?" Stella grinned, holding up the paper.  
>"What's going on in here?" Hunter walked into the room, the metal clanging he was making telling he was back in his armor.<br>"April is trying to get me to do something again." Stella smiled when April scoffed.  
>"This isn't just 'something'- not like a trip to the lake." April said defensively.<br>Stella couldn't help but snicker at the water magi. Ever since she had found out that the first time Stella had seen _anything_ outside of the sorcerer's tower was only a few weeks ago, she had been having Stella trying all sorts of new experiences. New foods, introducing her to different creatures…  
>"Alright, well what is it?" Hunter asked skeptically, walking over and sitting on the arm rest of Stella's chair, making her blush at his sudden nearness.<br>"It's a faire in a nearby town- I think it'd be great if Stella could go and have fun! They have all sorts of games there, dancing, and I could finally get her a new dress." Yellow said the last part wryly.  
>Stella blushed again, feeling the worn cloth that covered her. She had been wearing the same dress for years- though she didn't know what it looked like. Did it really look that bad?<br>"You don't look bad." Hunter said, making her look up in surprise. "It just has a few holes in it- a new dress will probably warm you up some."  
>Stella nodded, looking back to April. "I'll probably have to walk around, right…? Is Hunter going?"<br>"Well duh. I'm not letting you go anywhere alone." Hunter said defensively.  
>"It's settled then, we'll leave tomorrow morning." April said in excitement.<br>Stella heard Hunter grumble beside her and looked up at him curiously. "What's your problem?"  
>"She seems like she's having too much fun… and I'm not very good at dancing."<br>Stella stared at him with raised eyebrows. "Alright, well at least you can look at your feet while you dance."  
>Hunter laughed in amusement. "Alright, that's true. Sorry. You'll have fun- the last time I went to a faire I never wanted to leave." Hunter stood up from the chair, stretching with a groan as bones cracked. "Alright- I'll be outside doing sparring moves. I'm getting stiff." He said. "Just call if you need anything."<p>

Hunter dismounted from Blitzen, taking Stella off as well and setting her on the ground. Stella wanted to cover her ears at the amount of talking going on around them- there must be hundreds of people here!  
>"What should we do first? There's food… and games… let's try the koi game- maybe she'll win one." April said, walking forward.<br>Hunter chuckled at her enthusiasm and took Stella's hand, resting it in the curve of his arm. "Stick by me, okay? I don't want you getting lost in the crowd."  
>Stella nodded, her hand tightening on his arm as he started walking forward slowly.<br>"Step right up- come and fish for koi- catch a koi and keep it, all for only 10 gold!" The man at the stall shouted as they walked up.  
>"Want to take a shot at it, little lady?" The man said from a distance, making April chuckle.<br>"Oh no, not me- her." She corrected.  
>The man hesitated for a minute. "But… She's…"<br>"Use your time stop thing on the koi." Hunter whispered into her ear. "Surprise him a little- he probably won't notice."  
>Stella smiled in amusement and nodded, wobbling forward on the uneven ground. "I'll take a try, please."<br>"Miss… I don't think…" The man said in concern as she felt for the side of the large tank, hearing splashing below. She reached out her hand for the fishing poll, someone handing it into her palm.  
>She closed her eyes, opening them again as the world flashed brilliantly into colors. She looked down into the thank and saw several small blue splotches in the water's depths, swimming around each other and occasionally flipping against the surface of the water. She felt for the poll in her hand, judging how long it was before feeling what she was catching the koi with at the end. Good, it wasn't anything sharp- just a small worm wound around a stone of some sort.<br>She stuck the poll in the water in front of one of the fish, who stopped and stared at the worm in interest before biting down on it. Stella raised the poll and flinched when water was flung onto her as the fish flapped out of water.  
>"Well I'll be… Alright miss, the koi is yours. Enjoy." The man said, taking the koi off the end of the string. Stella watched as the koi floated through darkness toward her, swimming in quick circles in midair. She reached out and felt a strange pouch that the koi was in, water filling the pouch to the top. She let her magic fade, the world becoming dark again as the koi splashed again against the surface, sending water flying around. Stella giggled as water splashed her in the face, small hands taking the pouch away as April laughed.<br>"I'll hold the koi for you. Let's get something to eat, and then we'll pick out a dress for you." April said happily.  
>Hunter laughed at the magi before taking Stella's hand again, guiding her forward to catch up with April.<p>

Hunter waited outside the shop, holding the koi in his hands as it tried to splash him in the face again. His hair still already wet from the last attempt. He glared down at the fish as it blew bubbles in the water, swimming around in a circle. Darn, it was a cute little thing though- and he normally wasn't into water creatures.  
>He heard laughing from inside the shop and sighed in frustration, rolling his eyes. Apparently a man going into a dress shop wasn't acceptable- he'd had to wait outside while Stella and April picked out a good dress.<br>The koi splashed him in the face again and he was still sputtering, wiping water off his face when Stella and April came back out, April leading Stella toward him.  
>"Well, what do you think?" April asked, leading Stella in front of him. He took his hand off his face from wiping water away, his green eyes wide with surprise when he stared at Stella.<br>She was wearing a black dress with white floral patterns all over it- her black rainbow-shining hair fell behind the dress, casting small lights of color on it as she smiled.  
>"Does he like it?" She said, looking to April with her white eyes.<br>"I think so- his jaw's about down to the floor." April said in amusement.  
>Hunter closed his mouth and muttered under his breath, still watching Stella. He didn't really know what to say… he had never been around a girl that look as pretty as she was… suddenly he felt nervous.<br>"Yes, you do look very…" He looked at her soft smile as she waited. "Beautiful."  
>Stella smiled happily, twisting her hips to feel the soft fabric twirl around her legs. "It definitely feels better than my other dress. What fabric was this, again?"<br>"Satin." April said with a wry smile as she watched Hunter. She formed a heart with her hands, then pointed to Stella, her eyebrows raised in question.  
>Hunter blinked in shock, his cheeks flushing as he shook his head. He couldn't be in love with her- he'd only met her two weeks ago!<br>April rolled her eyes in dismay, turning back to Stella.  
>"Alright, now we should put that dress to the test- do you want to try dancing?"<br>Stella suddenly looked nervous. "What if I trip? I don't want to fall in front of everyone."  
>"Hunter won't let you trip, will you big guy?" April grinned to Hunter teasingly, whose blush deepened. What was she trying to do?<br>"No, I won't." He muttered in embarrassment. He looked over to where people were dancing on a raised stage, feeling a shove from behind him as April pushed him closer to Stella. He glared at the magi behind him and took Stella's hand, leading her over to where the others were.

"Um… I'm not very good at this." Hunter muttered as Stella stood on the stage in front of him, holding onto his hands to keep steady as the other people twirled around them.  
>"That's alright, I'm not either." Stella giggled as he chuckled and moved closer to her.<br>"Alright, I took a class on this when I was a teenager at the keep- so we should be okay." Hunter muttered, setting his hand on her hip, his other hand holding her wrist as he stood against her.  
>"How do we move around? Which way will we go?" She whispered nervously.<br>"Don't worry- just try to follow the best that you can. I'll catch you if you trip." Hunter said, pulling her with him as he started moving in circles. Stella followed after him, her feet shuffling against his at first before coordinating better, moving with him around the dance floor.  
>"See? It's not so bad." He said, his voice rumbling through his chest as she followed after him. She blushed and nodded as he held her tightly against him to keep her from falling, her arms wrapped around his chest because she didn't know what else to do.<br>"Here- wrap them around my shoulder." He said, taking her arms and lifting them higher until they were wrapped around his neck. She looked up at him in surprise, her white eyes blinking.  
>"So… what's the purpose of dancing like this?" She asked, trying to ignore the warmth of his body against hers.<br>"Purpose? It's for people to be together and have fun." He shrugged, making her arms move with his shoulders. "People like to be close to one another."  
>Stella nodded, secretly feeling relieved that feelings like this were apparently normal. She set her forehead against his chest, feeling his muscles tense against her.<br>"Are you alright?" He asked, his hand moving from her hip to the small of her back to keep her supported in case she fell.  
>"Yeah, just enjoying the moment for a bit." She whispered, hearing his strong heartbeat as they spun again.<br>Hunter cleared his throat uneasily, still tense beneath her.  
>"Thank you for taking me- I've had the best day of my life." She said softly against him.<br>Hunter chuckled and nodded, his hand holding the back of her head, his fingers running through her hair  
>"No problem, Stella. I'm glad you had fun." He said as the music stopped, both of them stopping and moving apart from each other.<br>"We should probably get going guys, we need to get back to Herbal Grace by nightfall." April shouted from off the stage.  
>"Are you feeling better?" Hunter asked, jumping off the stage before helping Stella down as well.<br>"Yeah." She said happily, smiling when April handed her the pouch with the koi in it.  
>"Alright, we should probably head to The Keep tomorrow." Hunter said as they walked over to Blitzen.<br>"Well at least you had fun today, right?" April asked, setting a hand on Stella's shoulder to tell her she was talking to her.  
>"Yeah. Thanks." Stella sighed, hoping The Keep wouldn't be too… intimidating. <p>


	9. Chapter 9

April waved goodbye to them as they rode away from Herbal Grace. "I'll take care of your koi, Stella. It was good to meet you." She yelled after them as they rode off on Blitzen. Hunter raised a hand in farewell as well before clicking, Blitzen speeding up into a gallop toward the docks to ride the ferry.

A few days passed, their journey quiet and pleasant as they rode Blitzen across the fields on their way to The Keep. Stella looked up in surprise at the strange sounds in the distance, the roar of creatures mixing with the small hum of human civilization.  
>"We're close- but I don't think we should go to the main keep just yet. I need to check in with the battle magi and tell them the sorcerer wasn't there." Hunter explained as they turned right, Blitzen's hooves clomping on a stone path.<br>Soon Stella heard shouts from around her, the sound of wood hitting wood and yells of anger filling the air.  
>"What's going on?" She asked, shrinking back against Hunter uneasily.<br>"It's just people sparring, nothing to be worried about. That's how younger magi practice with weapons- they use wooden ones first, and once they're good with those they move onto real ones. It's safer that way." Hunter explained as Blitzen jumped up stairs, snorting when he stopped at the top.  
>"Hey, you're back!" Hunter yelled from a distance, confusing Stella.<br>"Yeah, sorry it took so long." Hunter said from beside her, making Stella shake her head in confusion.  
>Someone walked toward them, stopping in front of them and chuckling.<br>"It's unlike you to pick up women, Hunter. Who's the chick?" Hunter's voice said, but it sounded slightly different- almost as if he had been yelling too much and his voice was raspy.  
>"Shut up." Hunter said from beside her., sounding embarrassed. "Her name's Stella- and I did not 'pick her up'. At least not in the sense you're thinking of."<br>"Why isn't she reacting at all?"  
>"You dolt- take a good look before you start asking stupid questions." Hunter hissed angrily from beside her. A tiger growled angrily from beside the stranger, Silver growling back.<br>"OH. Oh- I'm sorry, I didn't see that you were blind." The strange Hunter said awkwardly.  
>"What the hell is going on?" Stella asked, finally exasperated to the point of frustration.<br>Both Hunters laughed in amusement. "This is my brother- Solinur. We're twins."  
>"Call me Sol for short." Solinur said as he walked forward and stayed silent.<br>"She can't see your hand, idiot." Hunter sighed in frustration.  
>"Oh." Solinur took Stella's hand in a friendly shake of greeting. She looked down at it, noticing that his hand somehow wasn't as warm as Hunter's…<br>"My name is Stella." She said shyly, leaning back against Hunter.  
>"Don't give me that look." Hunter said defensively from behind her. "I didn't do anything."<br>"Right. Alright bro- Fram is waiting for you to come back. It you want to leave the little honey with me you can go meet with our master."  
>"Honey?" Stella grumbled. She put up with Hunter's 'babe' only because he said it when he was being nice- but this… this was just rude. The man may sound like Hunter, but he didn't act like him at all.<br>"Sorry, _Stella. _We should let Hunter get going before our master starts beating him over the head with his cane." Solinur said with a laugh.  
>Hunter groaned in frustration and dismounted from Blitzen before letting Stella down as well. He walked over to the other man, a rustle of fabric sounding.<br>"Don't you dare hurt her- hear me?" Hunter growled angrily.  
>"Woah, bro, calm down." Solinur said with a laugh. "I'd never do anything like that."<br>Hunter let out another growl and walked back over to Stella, leaning down and putting his hands on her shoulders.  
>"If he tries anything funny, freeze him. Don't let him push you around." He whispered to her in her ear before leaning away again. "Will you be alright?"<br>Stella nodded, biting her lip nervously when a cold hand grabbed her tightly around the wrist, dragging her forward. She stumbled and fell against him, hearing his amused laugh as she leaned against his chest before standing back up quickly. She could see what Hunter had meant, now.  
>"Alright, I'll be back as soon as I can." Hunter said, sounding nervous as he hesitated outside the door.<br>"Go, we'll be fine- right?" Solinur put a hand on Stella's shoulder, making her shiver at the contact.  
>"R-right." She whispered, wishing he wouldn't touch her so much.<br>Hunter hesitated a moment longer before she heard the creak of large doors, then a loud thud as it closed. She stood stiffly beside Solinur as he snickered.  
>"So, where did my brother find you? Some city on the way back home?"<br>Stella scoffed. "No. He rescued me." She said hotly.  
>Solinur paused for a minute. "From the sorcerer's tower?"<br>Stella bit her lip nervously, running a hand through her hair.  
>"Is that why you look so… different?" He asked, stepping away from her.<br>She paused when she realized Hunter had said the same thing when he had first met her as well. "Yes. He held me captive there for many years. Can we please go inside? I don't like the noise of the fighting." She didn't want to tell him anymore about her past either. She flinched when metal clanged loudly behind her, one of the younger magi shouting in triumph.  
>"Yeah- Blitzen, you can go to the stables where Vixen is. Thank you for letting Hunter ride you so far." Stella heard the elk let out a low murr and trot back down the steps, galloping off.<br>"Silver, you and Gold please go with the other creatures- I'm sorry, but the hallway isn't wide enough for all four of us."  
>Two tigers growled, large paws walking down the steps . Solinur let out a long sigh, grabbing Stella's wrist again. He walked inside with her, stopping in surprise when Hunter stood, about to open the door as well.<br>"Hey- Fram wants to talk with Stella. He wants to know what happened." Hunter said uneasily.  
>"H-he wants to know… about me? You didn't tell him, did you?" She gasped, terror running through her.<br>"No, I'm leaving that up to you. You can tell him if you want to, but I won't speak for you. He may be able to cure your blindness if he knows what's wrong, though." He said hopefully.  
>Stella froze, feeling the scars around her eyes thoughtfully. "I'd be able to see again?"<br>"Maybe. It's why I brought you to The Keep in the first place- the best healers in the world are here- I figured if anyone could, they'd be able to heal you."  
>Stella thought for a minute, wondering if it would be alright to tell one more magi about what she could do… she had told Hunter, and he hadn't been to angry. April had found out, and she hadn't been scared at all.<br>Perhaps magi weren't so bad after all. Maybe everything the sorcerer had told her had been a lie. "Alright." She said at last. She took her wrist out of Solinur's grip, reaching toward where she had heard Hunter's voice. His warm hand wrapped gently around her wrist, making her blush from the familiar feeling. She walked with him down the hall toward Fram's study.

"Sir?" Hunter opened the door to the study, looking inside to see an older man sitting on a chair behind a desk. Fram turned around, looking at Hunter with a pleasant smile. "Hello, Hunter. Did you bring the girl with you?"  
>Hunter nodded uneasily and led Stella into the room, letting her sit down on one of the other chairs in front of the desk, then sat down next to her.<br>"So dear, please tell me how you got to be in that tower."  
>Stella interweaved her fingers together nervously, wondering if this had been a good idea after all. "Well, I don't remember much of what happened at first. All I remember is that he killed my parents and took me. Then he tied me up and did… something. There was a bright flash, and horrible pain. I lost my sight, and ever since then I've had… magic."<br>"What sort of magic?" The older man said, sounding interested.  
>"Um… time, I think. I can freeze it, and speed it up."<br>The man paused for a minute, an awkward silence settling into the room. "I see. Can you please demonstrate your ability for me?"  
>Stella nodded, closing her eyes and opening them, the bright colors around the room almost blinding her at their intensity. She yelled in surprise, covering her eyes in shock.<br>"Hey- what's wrong?" Hunter said in concern, moving closer to her.  
>"Everything's so bright!" She said, her eyes watering as they tried to get used to the bright colors covering most of the room.<br>"Here, just speed the time on this- then." Hunter handed a small paper into her hands. She felt it in confusion, glancing at his green glowing form.  
>"Are you sure? Isn't not important, is it?" she asked, not really wanting to open her eyes again while in this room.<br>"No. Go ahead." He said, leaving the paper in her hands, moving back into his own chair. She opened her eyes, looking down at the small void of black within her white glowing hands, setting it on her lap. She made a small sphere of white magic around it, quickening the span of time within the sphere so that the paper withered and turned to dust against her leg. She blew the dust off her leg, then closed her eyes as the world faded into darkness again with a sigh of relief.  
>"I see. That is indeed an interesting magic." The older man said in interest. "Thank you dear, we will discuss how we might try to fix your predicament with your sight. In the meantime please make yourself at home in the keep."<br>Hunter stood, taking Stella's hand when she held it out for him to help her out of the room. "Thank you." She said over her shoulder to the man before walking out of the room with Hunter, closing the doors behind them.  
>"That wasn't too bad, was it?" He said happily, leading her back down the hall.<br>"No, I guess not." Stella smiled, walking behind him down the hall toward Solinur.


	10. Chapter 10

Hunter and Stella sat in his room, laughing as Hunter told her of his many escapades with his brother when they were younger. They looked up as a knock sounded at the door, Hunter standing and answering the call.  
>"Excuse me sir, but Fram would like to speak to you again- he is waiting in the main hall for you." The young boy's voice said before footsteps scampered down the hallway.<br>"Who was that?" Stella asked curiously, still looking toward the door before she heard Hunter's footsteps nearby.  
>"It was just a page." He said, sounding nervous. "You wait here, I'm going to go see what he wants. It's probably just something about the sorcerer." He said, sounding as if he was trying to convince himself more than her.<br>"Alright." Stella said, starting to feel uneasy as well. Why was he suddenly so worried?  
>"I'll be back as soon as I can. Don't open the door for anyone but me." Hunter walked over to the door, opening it and shutting it behind him.<br>Stella wrapped her hands in her dress nervously, wondering what the older magi wanted to talk to Hunter about. Maybe they had found a cure for her sight? Or maybe…  
>Maybe they had decided she was too much of a danger.<br>She let out a soft groan of frustration when she knew she wouldn't be able to know what was going on until Hunter came back and told her. She looked down as Remmy peaked from behind her hair, running down her arm to sit on her lap and squeak loudly.  
>"What?" Stella asked the small creature, who squeaked again and ran over to her hand, biting it hard.<br>She yelped in shock and took her hand away. "What was that for?" She asked hotly.  
>Remmy made another squeak and Stella gasped as the room came into view in her mind, hearing her own breathing and looking up at her own face.<br>Wait- did she really look like that? No, that couldn't be her. She had brown hair- she remembered that distinctly from being a child.  
>Remmy squeaked again, the sound loud in her mind- as if it was her that was squeaking.<br>As if she was Remmy.  
>"Am I seeing what you're seeing?" She gasped in shock, marveling at all the colors of the room. She could see! Through Remmy's eyes, but at least she could see the room and what it looked like- all the deep greens and browns, the rich wood that everything was made of, the wooden staff that leaned against the wall…<br>Remmy squeaked again, running off Stella's lap and into a hole in the keep's walls.  
>The rat ran along the inside of the wall, jumping from ledge to ledge before meeting several other jerboa rats, who looked at him in interest.<br>Remmy squeaked quickly to them, waving his arms and flicking his tail before one of the females responded, squeaking back in the same manner. Remmy followed the female up through the wall, turning a corner before pointing to another hole leading outside the wall.  
>Remmy thanked her with another squeak before peeking through the hole, walking outside when the coast was clear.<br>Stella saw through Remmy's view, a huge room with several people up on tall chairs behind an enormous table. The large doors at the other side of the room opened, Hunter walking inside and bowing before looking up at the older men who had were sitting at the table, Fram included.  
>"We have called you, Hunter, to ask you a few questions about the girl you found." A man with a nasally voice asked, looking to the man in the middle of the room.<br>"Yes sir, what would you need to know? I can go get her, and she can answer any questions you'd like." Hunter replied, looking up at them. Stella stared at him for a moment, having never seen him as anything other than a being of glowing green light. He had scruffy brown hair- and green eyes. His skin was tanned from staying in the sun for so long,  
>"No, we wish to ask only you. How long have you been traveling with this girl? Has she shown the powers Fram speaks of?"<br>Hunter looked to his master in shock, a frown coming over his face. "I met her two and a half weeks ago- and I do not know what Fram has told you."  
>"Do not patronize me, boy!" Fram yelled loudly, a fist slamming on the table in front of him. "The girl has time magic- did the sorcerer give it to her?"<br>"I don't know. All I know is what she is, and that she was trapped in that tower against her will. I simply did my duty as a battle magi." Hunter said gruffly, glaring at his master.  
>"The other students say you are close to her- is that true?" Another man asked.<br>Hunter looked up at him and let out a long sigh. "Yes."  
>"How long do you think you have been corrupted by the dark magic?" Another man asked.<br>Hunter looked up at them in shock, his green eyes wide. "You can possibly be serious! She doesn't have any dark magic- she's just a woman, who's confused!" He yelled in anger.  
>"She may be a woman, Hunter. Dangerous and dark weapons can take many forms, and all weapons of darkness must be destroyed." Fram said solemnly.<br>"She's harmless- for Gods' sake, she's blind! What harm can she do to anyone?" Hunter said defensively.  
>"She can kill anyone in this keep on a whim, and you know that. She could destroy the foundations this keep is built on, and kill all inside. She can do more than you can imagine, Hunter. Do not take such powerful magic so lightly."<br>"I know her- she doesn't think of those things, she's not evil." Hunter shook his head in denial.  
>The men murmured to each other for a minute, before Fram stood from his chair.<br>"Hunter of Voltar- I give you a new quest to finish your training as a battle magi." Fram said loudly, the other men nodding in agreement.  
>"What?" Hunter gasped in shock.<br>"Your quest is to kill that girl. Bring back proof of her death, and you will be honored the title of a master battle magi." Fram looked down at his pupil with a dark glare. "You must rid yourself of this darkness which has corrupted you. I will not let one who has fraternized with a sorcerer's evil deed become a master."  
>"You are dismissed, boy." Another of the men said darkly.<br>Hunter stared up at the men in horror before growling in anger and turning around, leaving the room. Remmy watched as he left before squeaking sadly and running back through the walls to Stella as tears filled her eyes.

Hunter stood in front of the doorway to his room, staring at the door as he tried to figure out what to tell Stella. 'Sorry, you can't stay here because they want me to kill you.' Sounded a little too… blunt.  
>He sighed in frustration and opened the door, seeing Stella in the same chair she had been sitting in when he had left. He sat back down in his own chair, running a hand through his hair uneasily. He jumped in shock when he saw her rainbow eyes, looking around to see a white sphere surrounding them both. What was she doing?<br>"I'm sorry, Hunter. I have to do this." She whispered, her voice wavering as tears ran down her cheeks.  
>"What? What are you doing?" He looked around outside the sphere to see everything still- a bird outside the window was frozen in the air. "Wait- no!"<br>"I can't let you throw away your life for me, Hunter. I won't let you." She looked to him, biting her lip to keep emotions from overflowing.  
>"I can find you a place where they won't find you, Stella. You can stay there, and no one will hurt you."<br>"And they will kill you for letting me go. This way it's not your fault. After all, I'm much too dangerous to leave alive." She said bitterly. "I should have known better than to trust magi."  
>"Stella-"<br>"Just stop!" She yelled in frustration. "I'm tired of you being so optimistic! They want to kill me, Hunter. There's no place for me here."  
>"But.." He hesitated, not knowing what else to stay. He didn't want her to leave… he had only just found her.<br>"The time I've spent with you has been the most amazing time of my life, and I thank you for that. But I can't let you die because of me…" She turned away from him. "I love you too much to do that."  
>Hunter blinked in shock as she moved forward, kissing him softly on the lips. "Don't you dare come looking for me, Hunter." She whispered.<br>"No, please Stella- don't do this!" He yelled, reaching for her when she moved away from him quickly. "Ste-"

Stella stared at his frozen form as the sphere of white magic around her settled in its smaller form. Another tear ran down her face as she looked at his desperate expression, his eyes wide as he tried to reach for her. She knew she could hold the magic this castle was under for a long time- she had done many experiments with it while at the sorcerer's tower.  
>Remmy squeaked in question on her shoulder, looking up at her in concern.<br>"I'm not sure where we'll go." She whispered sadly at the small green glowing creature. "But we can't stay here."  
>She walked out of the room, grabbing for the door handle before opening it and walking into the hallway. She looked back at Hunter one last time before closing the door behind her.<p> 


	11. Chapter 11

"Stella!" Hunter yelled, his hand grabbing at thin air when he reached for her. She had vanished in an instant… she must have frozen him and the area around her to get away.  
>"DAMN IT!" He yelled loudly, slamming his fist against the arm of the chair he was sitting in, the wood cracking beneath the blow. He flinched as splinters dug into the side of his palm, holding his hand as pain shot through his arm.<br>"What the hell is all the yelling in here?" Solinur opened the door, looking in at his brother in confusion. "What happened?"  
>"She ran again." Hunter said through clenched teeth.<br>"Who? Stella?" Solinur looked around the room in surprise, his brown hair whipping around his face. "How the hell did she run? She can't even see!"  
>"She can see when she uses her magic." Hunter growled, standing and walking over to his staff, picking up the weapon in determination.<br>"Wait- why did she run, then? Did you make her angry?" Solinur watched his twin as he walked around the room, gathering things together on his bed.  
>"No, she found out… somehow." Hunter muttered, looking back at his brother. "Did you tell her?"<br>"Tell her what?" Solinur said defensively. "The last time I saw her, she was talking with you in here."  
>"Then how did she know?" Hunter asked himself, running a hand through his hair in frustration.<br>"Alright, I may be your twin but I can't read your mind. You're going to have to tell me what you're muttering about. I haven't seen you this grumpy since that hot fire magi dumped you."  
>Hunter shot his brother a glare at the memory and sighed in frustration. "I'm so screwed, Sol. What the hell am I going to do?" He sat back down in the chair in frustration, putting his face in his palm.<br>"Alright, now you have my attention. What's wrong?" Solinur walked over to sit in the chair beside him, blinking in surprise at the tingle of magic remaining in the air.  
>"I can't stop thinking about her. I don't know what to do. She probably doesn't want anything to do with me now, she think I want to kill her." Hunter said, his voice muffled from his hands.<br>Solinur rolled his eyes. "Alright Drama queen. Why would she think you were going to kill her?"  
>"Because Fram gave us the new quest to do that- they want us to kill Stella." Hunter looked up at Solinur's shocked expression. "Yeah, that was my reaction too."<br>"Why the hell would they want us to kill Stella?" Solinur asked, shaking his head in confusion.  
>"She has… strange magic. The sorcerer we were originally supposed to kill gave her different creature's magic. She controls time." Hunter explained, watching Solinur's eyes get even wider.<br>"Time like… minutes, and seconds?" Solinur asked cautiously.  
>"Time like, she can speed your age until you're nothing but dust. I don't think she likes it, though."<br>Solinur squirmed uneasily in his seat. "I'm sorry Hunter, but that is _very_ dangerous magic."  
>"You've met her. Can you imagine her going around and killing people like that?" Hunter looked up at his brother uneasily. He hoped Solinur wouldn't decide that killing Stella was the 'right' thing to do.<br>"No… she's way too nice." Solinur rubbed his forehead in frustration. "She's almost as bad as you."  
>Hunter sighed in frustration. "Either way, I have to find her. I don't care what she said, she can't be out there alone." Hunter said, standing up and continuing to grab things from around the room.<br>Solinur watched Hunter for a minute before letting out a long and deep sigh. "Alright bro, I'm coming with you. You're in one of your 'I need to do this until it kills me' moods, and that's never a good thing." Solinur stood, watching as Hunter shot him another glare. "Would you stop that? I'm trying to help you."  
>Hunter paused, looking to his twin in surprise. "You really want to help me find her?"<br>"Well if she means this much to you, then hell yes. I'm not going to have you moping around the castle for the rest of your life… besides, that sweet little thing's probably stuck half dead in some alley by now. I don't like thinking of her in trouble either."  
>Hunter blanched at the thought, looking at Solinur uneasily.<br>"Oh Gods, I was kidding. You're really into this girl, aren't you?" Solinur raised an eyebrow to Hunter in interest.  
>"I don't know." Hunter said in frustration. "All I know is I can't stand the thought of her in trouble."<br>Solinur rolled his eyes. "Egads, this is worse than I thought. Alright, let me get my things together, and we'll head out to save your damsel in distress. Maybe she'll have met a little lady friend by now." Solinur grinned hopefully and walked out of the room as Hunter sighed in exasperation.

Stella sat in a bar, holding the cup of water the bartender had given her. Her magic was almost run out… she wouldn't be able to see for much longer. At least most of the things around magi had magic in them- even some of the buildings. It made seeing the city much easier.  
>"Hey little lady, what are you doing here?" A man's voice said from beside her. Stella looked up, but saw nothing but darkness on either side of her.<br>"Just leave me alone." She muttered, looking down at her cup again.  
>"No can do, miss. I've seen some of the other guys around here ogling you like you were the prize hen at a fair. I'm going to have to keep you company for a bit to keep them at bay." He said, sitting in the chair beside her with a riot of clanking metal. What the hell was all that noise?<br>Whoever he was, he definitely didn't have any magic. All she saw was a black void, surrounded with the soft green glow of the building's walls. It was kind of like seeing a silhouette. He was tall, and broad shouldered- and there were strange sharp parts to his outline…  
>"So, who exactly are you? Whoever you are you've got the strangest eyes I've ever seen." The man said, moving beside her with more metallic noise.<br>Oh no… her magic was going to run out soon, and her eyes would go back to normal… she still hadn't found a way to get any food. She didn't have any gold, and was too scared of the magi to ask for work around town.  
>"Don't look so worried- I'm not going to hurt you or anything. I'm just trying to keep you safe." The man said, sounding frustrated.<br>Stella ground her teeth in anger. "Why does every man I meet want to protect me like I'm some little fragile doll that might get hurt if it falls? I can take care of myself." She muttered.  
>"Woaaah." The man said in surprise. "Obviously there's something going on here. Are you running from someone?"<br>Stella looked at the silhouette, flinching that she was so easily read, even by a stranger. "Not entirely. It's really none of your business though."  
>"I'm afraid it is." The man sighed. "if there's a man in town that's causing women trouble, it's my duty to stop him. Not that I like getting into domestic affairs mind you, but it comes with the job."<br>"What job is that?" She said coolly, hoping that if she stayed hostile he'd go away.  
>"Paladin- Lieutenant Nitiko's the name-" The paladin held out a shadowed hand in front of her. "-Fighting's the game. Who might you be?"<br>Stella looked up at him with a glare, not wanting to tell her name to a stranger- none the less a Paladin… whatever the hell that was. She blushed as her stomach rumbled loudly, making the man chuckle in amusement.  
>"Tell you what- if you don't have any gold, tell me your name and I'll get you something to eat."<br>Stella looked down in frustration, holding her stomach as it rumbled again. She hadn't eaten in nearly a day- usually the sorcerer left her enough food for three meals, and Hunter had gotten good for them on the road…  
>"Stella." She muttered, glancing up at him.<br>"There now, see? Alright- I'll be right back." The man stood, another loud string of metal clanks sounding with every move he made as he walked over to the other side of the room.  
>"Remmy…" Stella whispered to the small jerboa rat, who peaked out from her hair, holding strands of it in his paws. "Can you let me see who he is? What's all that metal noise?"<br>Remmy nodded, glowing a bright green as his magic filled her.  
>She gasped in shock when everything came into view, Remmy looking around the dirty building, the rancid smell of alcohol matching the acrid décor of the run down bar. How had she gotten in here?<br>A man in full body armor stood at the counter, talking with a plump man, who glanced over at her and nodded. The armored man handed him several gold coins, turning and grinning at her when he saw her watching. Nitiko was tall- his armor made him look strong, the silver plating covering his entire body- and a large sword hung from his waist. He had long blond hair that fell to his shoulders, looking scraggly and messy from the helmet he held under one arm. He had a rather nasty looking scar across one eye- it ran down from his forehead to his chin on the side of his face, the eye it crossed white and glossy like her own. He frowned for a moment when she continued to watch him, putting a hand over his face before taking the food back to her and setting it in front of her. Stella let Remmy hide back in her hair as the man came over, sitting back down in the chair silently.  
>"Eat up." Was all he said, though he didn't sound as happy as before.<br>Stella couldn't help herself- the smell was so wonderful sitting in front of her that she started eating the food carelessly, eating the fruit cheese and bread with gusto. The man chuckled in amusement as he watched.  
>"Haven't eaten for a while, huh?" He asked, his voice revealing a smile.<br>Stella flushed with embarrassment, putting the bunch of grapes she had in her hand down "Um… no." She muttered, looking away.  
>"Don't you not have a job?" Nitiko asked in confusion.<br>Stella flushed deeper, her cheeks burning with heat as she shook her head. She felt so useless…  
>"Hmmm…" Nitiko said thoughtfully. "Maybe I should show you around. I might be able to get you a job if you're not just passing through."<br>Stella nodded gently, trying not to look as happy as she felt. At least he was letting her have a choice this time. "That would be nice… I'd like to try and lay low for a while if you don't mind."  
>"The guy you're running from?" He asked in concern.<br>Stella only nodded. Well, it was partially the truth at least… she didn't have to tell him that the magi thought she was too dangerous to live.  
>She gasped as her magic started fading, the world around her growing darker until everything was black again. She cursed at the magic's timing, no longer able to tell where he was anymore.<br>"Hey- your eyes…" He said hesitantly. "Why did they change?"  
>Stella bit her lip nervously, unable to look at him any longer. "My magic ran out." She whispered. She felt around the table for her cup of water, her hands shaky with nervousness as she took a small drink.<br>"You can't see anymore?" He said cautiously.  
>"No. Um…" She looked up uneasily at where she thought he was. "I don't know if I can make it around town without help now."<br>"Well lucky I found you, then. We'll head back to my place, and I'll call on a few contacts of mine. We'll see if we can get you back on your feet." He said, standing with a clanking of noise. Stella held out her hand, squeaking in surprise as he lifted her quickly to her feet.  
>"We'll take the rest of the food to eat back home." He said with a chuckle, walking with her out of the bar. <p>


	12. Chapter 12

Stella rode behind Nitiko on his large stallion, holding her arms around his waist for balance as the horse stopped from its long ride. The beast let out a loud whinny as Nitiko dismounted and helped her down from the horse as well. It was a massive equine- and from the distance she had to travel from its back to the ground, it was even bigger than Blitzen.  
>"Watch your step, there are steps ahead." Nitiko said as he led her forward up a stone path. She moved her feet forward, her toes hitting a step before she moved up the stairs slowly. Oh, how she hated stairs.<br>Wooden doors creaked in front of her as she was led inside, the smell of herbs filling her nose. A large creature huffed across the room, footsteps coming toward them.  
>"Away, you great hairy mutt." Nitiko said with a laugh as Stella heard and excited bark.<br>"Is that a dog?" She looked in the direction she had heard the bark from.  
>"Yes, the mongrel seems to like you. He tends to think he's a puppy still though, so I don't want him overwhelming you. Yes, yes, I'm glad to see you too." She heard metal clang as he bent over next to her, the dog panting happily.<br>She reached a hand out tentatively toward the animal, her palm contacting rough hair. She laughed when the dog licked her hand, wiping the slobber on her dress.  
>"Alright Stella, you can make yourself as home if you'd like- there are plenty of servants wandering around. Just tell them what you'd like and they'll do their best for you. I must do my daily vigil though, so I will see you in a couple of hours."<br>"Vigil?" Stella turned to him in confusion.  
>"Yes- I'm a paladin… the Gods protect me and my work, and so I must thank them for their blessings. It won't take too long, and you can be comfortable." Nitiko led her over to a plush couch, Stella sitting down and sinking into the feather-down mattress with surprise.<br>She heard him walk off in a riot of metal, the dog barking and running after him. She felt the soft fabric of the cushion beneath her, marveling at the feel of it. What sort of man was Nitiko that he could afford such luxuries? Surely such a silly man didn't earn all of this money… Perhaps he was more than he seemed.

Hunter and Solinur sat in the bat in the city, Hunter sitting with his head in his hands in frustration.  
>"What now? Silver and Gold lost her scent… she could be anywhere!"<br>"Calm down, bro." Solinur rolled his eyes. "She can't see- how far could she have gotten?"  
>"Twins? Well either I've had too much to drink or this is the second strange thing to happen today." A woman said in amusement, looking down at Hunter and Solinur.<br>"Well, hello." Solinur grinned up at the woman wryly as she set down two mugs of ale in front of them.  
>Hunter looked up as well. "Second? What do you mean?"<br>"Well the Lieutenant met this strange girl earlier. She had the strangest eyes I've ever seen. She looked terrified though, poor thing. She didn't order anything but a glass of water. Now two handsome magi sit down in the bar? The Gods must be smiling down to me.""  
>"Lieutenant?" Hunter said uneasily, glancing at his brother.<br>"Yeah, the paladin. He helps keep the city safe- does a right good job of it, too." She said wistfully.  
>"That's not good." Solinur muttered, glancing back to Hunter.<br>"Did she leave with him?" Hunter asked the barmaid uneasily.  
>"Yeah, she didn't seem too happy about it, though." The woman frowned.<br>"Does he live nearby?" Hunter stood, making the tigers lying beside the table raise their heads curiously at the movement.  
>"Yeah- the castle outside of town. Why, do you know her?" The woman said curiously.<br>"My brother is struck with her." Solinur said with a grin to Hunter, ignoring his dark look.  
>"Oh, how romantic! Well good luck to you, lads." She smiled as they both finished their drinks and walked out of the bar, their tigers following behind them.<p>

"By Voltar's flames! This place is huge!" Solinur stared at the castle in front of them. "This can't be one man's home… can it?"  
>"He's a paladin, Sol. That means he's of noble birth." Hunter looked at the building, trying to find a way in.<br>Silver let out a growl from further down the castle's wall, pointing his nose to something.  
>The rest walked over and looked at the locked cellar doors in interest.<br>"Gold, would you like to do the honors?" Solinur smiled at the female kuras tiger.  
>She let out a snort and looked down at the lock before pounding the wooden door to splinters with a blow of her paw.<br>"Very discrete." Hunter muttered in annoyance as Silver shook his head.  
>"It got the job done, didn't it?" Solinur said defensively, climbing down into the cellar.<br>"Silver, Gold, you stay with Blitzen and Vixen. Make sure they don't get grabbed by predators, alright?"  
>Silver nodded as Gold sighed, before nodding as well.<br>"Thank you." Hunter said, before climbing into the cellar as well.

Stella sat uneasily as a servant dusted the area around her, her delicate duster making small brushing noises. She didn't know how to react… should she move for them?  
>A yell from down the hall caught her attention, the servant beside her gasping and running from the room.<br>Stella glared the last remains of her magic, the room dark save for two green lights running toward her, focusing into two identical men. One held a staff, the other a large bow.  
>"There you are-why did you run away?" Hunter yelled before running over to her, grabbing her by the shoulders.<br>"Oh yes, let's yell at the woman. I'm sure that will make her happy." Solinur said sourly before stopping, a expression of fear on his face. "Uh… bro…"  
>The sound of metal sliding against leather made her look behind her in confusion, twisting against the couch to see nothing but darkness in the area behind her.<br>"Who are you, and why are you here?" Nitiko shouted, his voice harsh where yesterday it had been so soothing.  
>"We're magi- we're here for the girl." Hunter said, holding up his staff in a defensive position.<br>"You must be the man she is running from. How dare you defile my home with your evil pursuit? You will pay for your desecration!" Nitiko moved forward in front of Stella, who looked up at the black silhouette as it stood between her and the brothers.  
>"Evil pursuit? This guy's really something, isn't he?" Solinur said in amusement, backing away from the paladin.<br>"She obviously does not want your help. Be gone with you." Nitiko said darkly.  
>Hunter hesitated, looking back at Solinur."I'm not leaving." He said as he looked forward at Nitiko again. His staff's glow flared, a larger blade growing at its end, the staff forming into a halberd.<br>Solinur's hand glowed as he reached into a pouch at his side, arrows suddenly growing in his hand as he rose one to his bow.  
>"You wish to fight? Very well." Nitiko raised the shadow of a large blade, crouching into a fighting stance.<br>Hunter let out a yell of anger and charged forward, swinging his halberd. The thorn-covered staff met Nitiko's blade with a clash as the two men struggled.  
>"Hey- wait!" Stella shouted, not wanting anyone to get hurt as Nitiko and Hunter dueled, their weapons swinging through the air.<br>A whir through the air sounded, a green glowing arrow bouncing off Nitiko's armor.  
>Solinur swore loudly, lowering his bow with a frown.<br>Nitiko swung his blade in a wide arc, Hunter bringing up his halberd in time to block the powerful blow, but skidding back a few feet from the force of the blow.  
>"Will you STOP?" Stella yelled, her magic flaring powerfully, knocking all three men to their feet.<br>"You." Stella pointed to Hunter with a glare. "I told you _not_ to follow me!"  
>"You." She pointed to where she thought Nitiko was next to Hunter. "I don't need your help, I can protect myself."<br>"And You-" She pointed to where Solinur sat on the ground in confusion. "Why are you even here? You don't even like me!"  
>"B-but I thought… this man had evil intentions." Nitiko said, obviously sounding confused.<br>Stella brought a hand up to her face in frustration. "Him, no. I don't think Hunter could be evil even if he had to be."  
>Solinur laughed from across the room, nodding in agreement as Hunter flushed.<br>"Then why run from him?" Nitiko asked, suddenly sounding a bit hurt.  
>"Because he's being stupid. I did it for his own good."<br>Nitiko's silhouette turned to Hunter. "What happened, then?"  
>"I have magic the magi aren't too happy about, okay?" Stella said grumpily, holding her head as it pounded from the use of too magic.<br>"So, these magi are trying to protect you from the other magi?"  
>Stella nodded. "Stupid, right? They won't be able to… to… oh damn." She whispered before falling to the floor in a heap.<br>Nitiko scrambled over to Stella, his metal armor scraping against the stone floor. He sighed in relief when he saw she was just sleeping, then looked back at the two magi that had broken into his home. "You're going to have to explain things better."


	13. Chapter 13

"So let me get this straight…" Nitiko muttered, rubbing his temples with his fingers to ease the headache that had started to pound his head. "You found her in a dark sorcerer's tower, terrified, and decided to take her with you to the magi? What on earth would the magi want with the girl, other than to kill her?"  
>Hunter blinked in shock and frowned. "I thought they could heal her eyes."<br>Nitiko let out a sour laugh. "No lad, if they could have I would have asked long ago. Once your eyes are gone, they're impossible to get back." The man raised a hand to his face, running a finger along the scar on his cheek.  
>"I could have told him that. Didn't you ever talk to that water magi I dated a while back?" Solinur asked his brother, who rolled his eyes.<br>"No, you didn't talk with her much, either. You were too busy f-"  
>"We have no time for bickering." Nitiko glared at the brothers. The twins glanced at him before glaring at each other and moving away.<br>Nitiko groaned in frustration and looked over to Stella as she laid on the couch where she slept. The two intruders had insisted that she had only used too much magic and would be fine, but he was still nervous. She was a nice girl, if not a little sassy. He would hate to see her hurt in his own home. "If the magi are trying to kill her, then they probably noticed you two are already gone. What did you say to them before you left?"  
>Hunter glanced at Solinur uneasily. "Uh… that I didn't want to kill her?"<br>Nitiko let out a growl of displeasure. "Then I'm going to assume they're thinking you're defecting from their order." He said, trying to think of how a magi would understand what he was saying. Why did magi always assume that their magic would solve everything?  
>"Wait- so they'll be hunting us as well?" Hunter asked in shock.<br>"Duh." Solinur chuckled. "You really didn't think this through very much, did you? We're out of the keep right now, brother dear. Your fascination with this girl has cost us both our studies."  
>Hunter couldn't help but feel guilty as he looked at Solinur. "And you're okay with that?"<br>"Don't have much of a choice, do I?" Solinur shrugged. "Besides, studying is boring. I've learned pretty much everything they have to teach anyway, and I'm _not_ killing some girl to finish my studies."  
>Hunter nodded in agreement. "So then… what now?" He looked back to Nitiko.<br>"I have no care for what you or your brother do from now on." The paladin said harshly. "But this girl obviously has a problem with you being around her. Are you sure you told me everything about her?"  
>Hunter watched him uneasily, before nodding.<br>"You're a terrible liar. Alright, well she's going to stay here until she wakes up, and you two," Nitiko glared at the men. "had better not go near her."  
>Hunter looked down in annoyance, but nodded slightly.<br>"Good. Now if you'll excuse me, I have finish my vigil." Nitiko stood, his armor settling over him with loud metallic clangs before walking into the hallway, disappearing into another room.  
>"Well isn't he a ray of sunshine?" Solinur scoffed at the paladin after he had disappeared.<br>"I can't believe I destroyed both our lives. I'm sorry, Solinur." Hunter said, putting a hand up to his face, groaning in agony.  
>"Destroyed? Naah, more like made a bit more exciting." Solinur laid back in the chair he was sitting in, putting his arms behind his head. "You may be a bit dull dear brother of mine, but you do tend to attract the best adventures."<br>Hunter looked up at Solinur and sighed in frustration. Well, he was right about one thing- he had no idea what would happen next, and the thought of being outside the keep terrified him, but at least it was for a good cause.  
>He glanced over to Stella as she slept and laid back in his own seat, setting a hand over his face to try and think of what to do next.<p>

"B-but sir, don't you think we should tell Thane at the main keep what's going on before we send out more magi?" A younger magi said uneasily, looking at Fram from across a desk.  
>"That old codger would never understand the delicacies of this situation. All those years have made him soft… he'd probably let the girl go, insisting that she's done nothing wrong." Fram muttered darkly. "No, we'll keep this to ourselves for the moment. I want you to send out our best battle magi to hunt down those twins and the girl. Have them come to me first to get the details of their mission."<br>The younger magi hesitated for a moment with a frown, before nodding and bowing lowly to his master. He walked to the door and glanced back uneasily, watching Fram flip through a book before running down the hall to his duties.  
>He had to warn them of what was going on…<p>

"HO, men, fall in!" Nitiko yelled in the courtyard in front of his castle, the men who had been wandering around the grounds frantically running into place, standing in a line in front of him. "Now, I have a question for you men. If a woman were to be in trouble, what would you do as men? Would you save her, or leave her?"  
>"Save her, sir!" One of the men yelled loudly.<br>"Now, what if she had some strange and mysterious power that may be used for evil? Would you still save her?" Nitiko stopped in front of the men, looking at them curiously.  
>"Sir, yes I would sir." The man said more gently this time.<br>"And why would that be, knight?" Nitiko stood in front of the man with a smile.  
>"She may or may not be evil herself, sir." He answered.<br>"Is there a way to tell if she is or is not? What if she is a sorcerer or evil magi?" Nitiko said.  
>"A sorcerer must have an amulet, and a magi would reveal their powers to the stones." The man answered, looking up at his lieutenant in confusion.<br>"That's true. Now what if this woman could kill you with just a touch? Would you still want to travel with her?" Nitiko looked at the man in interest as he shifted uneasily.  
>"T-that's a strange power, sir. I've never heard of it." The knight said nervously.<br>"Aye, it is, isn't it? A small, blind girl with the power to kill a man on a whim… It's quite an interesting situation." Nitiko muttered thoughtfully.  
>"Sir?" The knight looked at him in confusion.<br>"Alright men, I told you one day I'd have to leave you, correct? Well it seems that day has finally come." Nitiko looked to his men, who all stared at him in shock. "I know it's sudden, but I am leaving it up to you men to protect this town. Do as I've taught you, and you'll all be fine."  
>"But sir! What is this all about?" One of the men shouted.<br>"There's a situation that's come up that I'm not sure I'll be able to leave alone. I will only say, it involves a girl and a stupid magi, and we'll leave it at that. Do not delve into it, otherwise you'll be caught in the web as well." Nitiko looked at the men and smiled warmly. "You have all become like brothers to me, and I thank you for your loyalty. I hope to come back, though I don't know how long this journey will keep me away from my home."  
>"We'll keep the city safe sir, go help the girl." The knight in front of him smiled warmly up to the older man. Nitiko rested a hand on the knight's shoulder in thanks and walked back toward the castle as the men looked at each other uneasily.<p>

Hunter looked up as a talvar flew in through a small window of the castle, landing on his knee with a flutter and chirp. He saw the small paper attached to its leg and untied the parchment, reading it as the bird flew off back out the window.

'They are sending Brodrick and Lex after you. RUN!'

Hunter stared down at the note in terror and handed it to Solinur, who stared at it as well.  
>"I was afraid they'd do something like that." Solinur muttered before setting the note down on the arm of the chair, standing quickly. "We have to get going quickly, before Lex's Raiju sniffs us out. You get the cats and get the elk ready- I'll go find Nitiko and tell him what's happening. We have to go quickly."<br>Hunter nodded and stood, running out the door to get the kuras tigers and elk ready to leave.  
>Solinur glanced over at the crumpled note with a frown. Fram was serious about killing them… sending a fire magi and an air magi… of course they would send the two elements earth was weakest towards.<br>He swore and ran to find Nitiko, hoping they would get away in time.


	14. Chapter 14

_He must find her. She is the key to his future, to what he had been working on for the last century of his life. He gripped the ruby stone that hung from his neck, the gem glowing hotly against his palm as he ground his teeth in anger. He froze in shock, his anger rising as he realized he needed her in more way than one.  
>He looked to the room she had slept in, remembering the scent of her. He looked out the window of the tower, his black and red robes flowing around him as he looked into the distance.<br>"I will get you back, little bitch. You will pay for running from me." The sorcerer hissed, looking down at the raiju beside him, the scars across its face and back revealing pale patches of skin against the dark fur. He walked down the stairs of the tower, the dog following behind him with its ears against its head in fear at his master's anger.  
>He had long ago learned the value of these magical creatures the magi had aligned themselves with. Though most of them had useless abilities, some had magic that was useful to exploit. He walked out to the area in front of the tower, where a large sasrael resurrection horse snorted, flames bursting from its skull at the sight of the sorcerer.<br>He raised his hands, fire flowing from his finger tips to engulf the horse and fuel the flame that burned within the ribcage of the animal.  
>The terrifying animal whinnied happily, the sound terrible as it was laced with a scream. He hoisted himself up onto the specially made saddle, looking down at the raiju with disdain. Would it be able to keep up? If it was strong enough it could if not, he would leave it to starve. He had raised the creature since it was a puppy, killing its mother to take it for his own. He knew the creature had no chance on his own, but as long as it was useful he cared for it.<br>He kicked the horse's ribs into action, the skeleton horse crying out in pain and bursting forward, its flaming mane and tail trailing behind it, burning the grass beneath its feet._

Nitiko looked up as Solinur ran out into the courtyard in front of the castle, gasping for breath from running such a distance so quickly. The knights looked at him with a wry smirk, knowing that this magi was obviously not a close-quarters warrior to be so out of breath from a sprint.  
>"Magi- are coming- for Stella and us." Solinur said between gasps, looking up at Nitiko as his blue eyes widened in reaction.<br>"You hear that men? The magi think they can just stroll in and take us." Nitiko looked at the other men, who all smiled in anticipation. "Why don't we remind them why we protect the city, and not them?"  
>"Sir, you should go with them." One of the knights suggested, ignoring Solinur's shocked expression. "We'll be fine on our own."<br>Nitiko smiled to the man and nodded, picking his helmet off the ground and settling it on his head, the long tail of white fur that trailed from the top of the helmet falling against his long blond hair.  
>"Alright, men. I will see you in the future, or in death." Nitiko clenched his armored fist, slamming it against his chest in a motion of respect.<br>Solinur watched in confusion as the other knights copied the movement, then turned around to face the two bodies coming toward them in the distance. Solinur watched the magi as they rode toward them, one riding a large tasharn and the other a Pegasus. He knew exactly who they were.  
>"Go, sir!" one of the knights yelled as they all drew their swords, standing in a half circle to ward off the magi.<p>

"Thank you.' Nitiko said solemnly to the men before following Solinur inside.

Brodrick looked at the line of men in front of them, all of them heavily armed. He glanced beside him to Lexington, who stared forward in determination from atop his black Pegasus.  
>"We will not fight them. Our only orders are to get that girl, and the twins if needed."<br>Lexington looked at Brodrick with a grown as they slowed, stopping in front of the men. "Then how to you expect us to get through?"  
>Brodrick frowned as well, moving his long red hair from his face to look around. He saw no sign of either the girl or the twins in sight. "We will ask the head of this castle where she is. The barmaid said she had gone this way."<br>"Brod, she's a barmaid. She may have said she was here, but that doesn't mean she is. You are too trusting." Lex said disapprovingly, his Pegasus snorting restlessly, its wings flapping.  
>"You magi have no business here. Return to your keep." One of the knights shouted at the men. Brodrick frowned at the shout, leading his tasharn forward.<br>"We are looking for a girl and two men, have you seen a blind woman with black hair?" He said, looking down at the swords pointing at him. "I have no wish to fight you."  
>The knights separated from each other slightly, obviously veterans of battle from the synchronized movement.<br>"We can't beat all of them, Brod." Lexington muttered beside him.  
>Brodrick glanced at him and rolled his eyes, reaching behind his back and taking his weapon out of its sheath. He pulled out the large double-bladed war ax, hefting the heavy weapon in his hands. "We will simply ask your leader if he has seen the girl and be on our way." He said loudly to the knights, who watched him warily.<br>"Our leader is not available. He is… out for the moment." One of the older knights smiled wryly.  
>Brodrick frowned and looked up at the castle, trying to see for any sign of anyone- but only saw servants dusting and cleaning.<br>"Brodrick!" Lexington grabbed the man's red and gold robe, pointing into the distance at three creatures running from the castle, their riders low on their backs to increase their speed.  
>"Liars!" Brodrick spat at the knights in anger, flames licking at the air around him as he turned the tasharn around and urged the creature to run as fast as it could after them.<p>

"Shit, they saw us!" Solinur yelled against Vixen's neck, looking down at Gold as she ran beside the elk.  
>"We can run faster than Brodrick's tasharn, we should be fine once we get to the forests." Hunter yelled back against the wind, looking behind him at Nitiko, who was holding Stella against him as he rode on the large stallion. He had insisted on bringing on the strange wolf-like dog with him, the animal keeping up beside them.<br>The trees came into view as they sprinted full-tilt toward the forest, Hunter leaning down against Blitzen's back to give the elk better balance as it galloped. They burst into the trees, the elks deftly winding between the trunks, their cloven hooves crushing the rotting leaves without any loss of speed. Nitiko's larger stallion on the other hand, wound his way slower through the trees, causing Nitiko to look behind his shoulder in panic, but saw no one following them.  
>"Where did they go?" He shouted, causing Hunter and Solinur to stop and wait for the stallion to catch up, looking around warily.<br>"I don't know… but I don't trust staying still for too long. We should make our way as far as we can today, and we'll rest only when the mounts need to."  
>Nitiko nodded solemnly, boosting Stella up against him when she slipped down into the saddle.<br>Hunter glanced at Stella uneasily, watching her for a minute as her head rolled to the side in her sleep.  
>"She's still just unconscious, I can hear her breathing. Come on, let's go before they catch us!" Nitiko urged his horse forward, the stallion roaring with agreement before bursting ahead, its large hooves pounding the ground.<p>

"Alright, we're probably far enough." Hunter said, shifting on Blitzen's back, after riding for the entire day.  
>"We lost them a long time ago." Solinur said in agreement, letting Vixen stop in a clearing, the elk's sides soaked with sweat from the run.<br>Nitiko stopped the stallion, patting the creature on the neck in thanks before dismounting, carrying Stella down with him as he jumped from the height to the ground, grunting when his stiff legs hit the ground. He looked down at Stella and sighed in frustration. "How long will she sleep?"  
>"No idea." Hunter shrugged. "Sometimes when magi who use their magic completely, they sleep for a couple days. Last time she did that, she slept for two days straight."<br>Nitiko grunted in annoyance. "Magic makes things overly complicated." He said, setting her down on the green grass that covered the clearing in the forest.  
>Hunter grinned and chuckled. He couldn't help but agree with that statement. He glanced at the large man, watching him as he stood and put an armored hand against his back when he stood with a groan.<br>"You alright?" he asked, seeing the pain on his face.  
>"Yeah, I haven't ridden hard like that in a couple years. I'm getting too old to do that." He growled roughly.<br>"Old? You don't look that old." Solinur said curiously as he let Vixen graze, Gold and Silver both panting as they laid down on the ground.  
>"You're as old as you feel. I learned that a while back, and I've been through too much to feel young anymore. You'll both learn of that soon enough." The paladin looked at the younger magi through his helmet and shook his head. "Nevermind, you'll never listen until it actually happens to you."<br>Hunter frowned in confusion as he watched Nitiko take off the helmet, setting it on the ground next to Stella as she slept.  
>"I'm going to go get wood for a camp fire. I don't suppose either of you are a fire magi?" He looked at the two magi, who both shook their heads.<br>"Alright, I'll get the flint from my satchel as well, then." He sighed and shook his legs out before walking into the forest, his armor rattling with every move he made.  
>Hunter looked to Solinur for an answer as to why Nitiko was acting so strangely, but only got a shrug.<br>"We should set up something for shelter so we don't get too cold, then." Solinur sighed, looking around at the trees around them. "You want to make a temporary house or something?"  
>"Sure." Hunter raised his hands, feeling the strange connection between his brother as their earth magic flared.<br>He watched the branches and trunks of the trees twist and widen, weaving around each other as both earth magi formed the small room around them, the roots burrowing deep into the ground to keep the house steady in the wind. Their magic faded, both of them looking at the house in satisfaction.  
>"Looks good, bro. You haven't used your magic in a while, have you?" Solinur looked over at Hunter, who shrugged.<br>"It tires me out- I only use it when I need it."  
>Solinur nodded and picked up Stella, bringing her into the small opening formed from branches and setting her down on the ferns that covered the ground.<br>Hunter looked down at her in frustration before sitting on the ground.  
>"What's up, grump?" Solinur asked before sitting down as well.<br>"I want to talk to her about what she said before she left, but I never got a chance to."  
>"It's not like she'll never wake up. Just be patient." Solinur grinned at him.<br>"I don't like waiting." Hunter growled in frustration.  
>Solinur sighed and put a hand on Hunter's shoulder. "Brother dear, if you want to be with a woman, you're going to have to learn to be patient."<br>Hunter glared at Solinur before sighing in frustration. He was right- why would she want to be with him? He always made girls angry- ever since they were teenagers, all the women who had been with him had grown frustrated with him and left.


	15. Chapter 15

Stella woke up bouncing up and down, gasping in shock as her magic flared around her and instantly faded again.  
>"Woah, that felt odd." Nitiko said from behind her with a chuckle. Stella froze and looked back at him in surprise.<br>"What are we doing? Why aren't we still at your castle?" Stella felt around her, feeling metal clad arms on either side of her, a large horse's sides beneath her legs.  
>"We had to get out before the other magi found you. It'll be alright, we lost them a while back." Nitiko said reassuringly.<br>"She's awake?" Hunter said, another set of hooves moving closer to trot alongside Nitiko's horse.  
>"Yeah, she just woke up." Nitiko said, the horse stopping as another set of hooves moved up closer.<br>"About time." Another voice said sarcastically.  
>"Solinur?" Stella said in surprise, looking toward the voice.<br>"Heya babe." He said, a grin in his voice. "Glad you finally woke up."  
>"But- you guys!" Stella said, sitting up in a panic. "You both can't be magi now- what the hell did you do that?" she yelled in anger.<br>"So?" Hunter grumbled.  
>Stella scoffed in disbelief. "So? You've worked your whole life to be a magi- how could you just give it up like that?"<br>"Well, she's a little spitfire, isn't she?" Nitiko chuckled.  
>"I wasn't about to sit around and watch you be killed if that's what you mean." Solinur said with distaste. "And Hunter definitely wasn't going to- not when-"<br>"Shut up!" Hunter yelled, making Stella flinch at the loud noise. "Stella, I didn't want you to be alone, and have every magi searching for you."  
>Stella looked down uneasily, wringing her hands through her dress uneasily. "But… I don't like that you gave up everything for me. I'm not that important…"<br>"Ah, and now we come to the root of the issue." Nitiko said in satisfaction. "You don't think these men should have given up their teachings to do the right thing, because you're not important enough to be the reason for them changing their lives so quickly?"  
>Stella looked up in surprise, but nodded softly.<br>"And you, Hunter, didn't want to see this girl killed because you don't like the idea of a woman who is blind being so helpless to those who would hunt her for… less than savory means?"  
>"Yeah…" Hunter said, sounding surprised as well.<br>"I could understand that. Stella, you have to understand that you are important- at least to those who see what you're really like." Nitiko said reassuringly. "We just have to find a way to convince the magi of that too."  
>Stella blushed at the complement, but remained silent. She hadn't ever been around people who actually liked her for who she was… When she had spent her life in the tower, all the sorcerer had done was use her for a purpose- either by supplying magic-filled stones or using her time magic. She still didn't know how she felt toward Hunter- he was nice, but… the fact that he was so ready to throw everything away for her like that kind of scared her. She wasn't used to someone caring about her so much.<br>"We should perhaps change the subject. I think she's getting uncomfortable." Solinur suggested.  
>"Aye, good idea. So- where are we going? All I know is that we're still moving in a northern direction." Nitiko said, his voice loud as Stella leaned against him, still feeling tired.<br>"Well, we should find someone who's willing to listen to what's going on, and maybe has a chance to get things changed." Hunter sighed in frustration. "But I don't know anyone like that."  
>Nitiko hummed thoughtfully for a moment. "I think I might. We'll have to go to Synara, though. It's a pretty long trip, but it may be worth it."<br>"So this guy will be able to help Stella, maybe?" Solinur said hopefully.  
>"Or at least listen to what we have to say without thinking she's inherently evil. My… my wife knew him." Nitiko said solemnly.<br>Stella looked back at Nitiko in shock. She hadn't seen a woman in the castle, nor any sign of one.  
>"Your face is far too expressive, Stella." He chuckled sadly. "My wife died a few years ago."<br>Stella blushed and looked away sadly. "I'm sorry."  
>"No need to be. It was her time to go to The Gods' sides, and so I've accepted it." He said confidently. Stella stared back at him with wide eyes. She had never experienced devotion to a religion like this before, and wondered how he could believe in the Gods so completely. Even to accept his own wife's death…?<br>"Well, we'll go see this guy… what's his name?" Solinur asked, sounding uneasy as well.  
>"Novilo the air magi." Nitiko said.<br>"Wait- Novilo the agility teacher?" Solinur said in amusement. "Hunter- it's the blond guy with the robes that kicked your ass!"  
>Hunter grumbled in annoyance at the mention of that battle.<br>"You know Novilo?" Nitiko said in surprise. "He taught you two?"  
>"Yeah- he's one of the teachers at our keep when he actually shows up to practice. He's notorious for being late, or not showing up at all. The other masters get really annoyed with him, but he just doesn't care." Solinur said, obviously sounding excited to see this teacher again.<br>"Well good- that will make our lives easier if he knows you two as well, at least." Nitiko said, sounding relieved.  
>Stella smiled, hoping things were going to turn out for the better. If this Novilo guy was actually anything like what the twins were talking out, she thought she would probably like him quite a bit. Hopefully he wouldn't judge her so quickly as the other magi had…<br>"That just leaves how to get there." Hunter said uneasily. "You do know we'd have to cross the Etain desert?"  
>"The thought crossed my mind, yes. We'll stop at the oasis first for some supplies and water to take with us. It will be a harsh journey, but I think we'll be fine." Nitiko said confidently.<br>"What's a desert?" Stella asked uneasily, hoping she didn't sound as stupid as she felt. They seemed to all know what they were talking about…  
>"It's a place where… well, there's a lot of sand, and not much else." Hunter said thoughtfully, trying to explain something like a desert. "It's dry- so dry in fact, that there's no water at all- and hot."<br>Stella grimaced at the idea. "That doesn't sound like a nice place."  
>"No, it's not. But it's better than getting fried by a fire magi, at least. It would be the quicker way to go, and I doubt Brodrick's tasharn could cross a desert. They're arctic creatures, after all."<br>"Then that leaves out going around through Raza- I had thought about doing that, but if the magi have a tasharn, I doubt that would be as hampering to the creature than going through the desert would be." Nitiko said, sounding like he was thinking things through. "We should be fine though- I've crossed the desert before, so I know what supplies we need. Things will turn out- I have a feeling the Gods will help us in our travels." he said in satisfaction.  
>Stella let out a soft sigh, not sure if she liked all this talk from Nitiko about 'Gods'. She wasn't sure anything that would let her live a life like this was worthy of her praise. Instead, she kept herself silent as the men started to discuss what to do next. She was so useless. <p>


End file.
